Breakdown of Önnur hæðin er opin.
vera
to be
opinn
open
annar
other, another; second
hæðin
the floor (story of a building)
Questions & Answers about Önnur hæðin er opin.
Why is 'second' written as Önnur here instead of Annar?
Annar is the masculine form for 'second'. Because the word for floor (hæð) is a feminine noun, we must use the feminine form, which is önnur. All ordinal numbers have to match the gender of the noun they describe.
Why does 'floor' have 'the' attached to it (hæðin) if önnur comes before it?
In Icelandic, when you use ordinal numbers like 'first', 'second', or 'third' to talk about a specific thing, you usually attach the definite article ('the') to the noun. So 'the second floor' is literally constructed as 'second floor-the' (önnur hæðin).
Wait, doesn't the word for 'open' usually have two n's?
Yes, the basic dictionary form (which is masculine) is opinn. However, adjectives must match the noun they describe. Since hæðin is a feminine noun, the adjective changes to its feminine form, opin, dropping the extra 'n'.
Could önnur also mean 'another' or 'other' here?
Yes! The word annar (and its feminine form önnur) acts double duty as both the ordinal number 'second' and the pronoun 'other' or 'another'. Context tells you which one it is. When talking about a multi-story building, önnur hæðin is almost always 'the second floor'.