Word
Dóttir þeirra er tólf ára.
Meaning
Their daughter is twelve years old.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Dóttir þeirra er tólf ára.
vera
to be
dóttirin
the daughter
þeirra
their / theirs
árið
the year
Questions & Answers about Dóttir þeirra er tólf ára.
Does the number tólf change its ending depending on what it is counting?
No, unlike the numbers 1 through 4 which change based on gender and case, the numbers 11 through 20 do not change their form. The word for twelve is always just tólf.
Why is the word for years ára here instead of the standard plural ár?
Why does the word for 'their' (þeirra) come after 'daughter' (dóttir)?
In Icelandic, possessive words like þeirra usually come directly after the noun they belong to, which is the opposite of the English word order 'their daughter'.
Why isn't it dóttirin (the daughter) instead of just dóttir?
When talking about close family members with a possessive word, Icelanders often use the indefinite form (without the attached 'the' ending). So dóttir þeirra is the standard and most natural way to express this.