Breakdown of Bókin er frá kunningjum þínum.
vera
to be
bókin
the book
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
frá
from
kunninginn
the acquaintance
Questions & Answers about Bókin er frá kunningjum þínum.
Why does the word for acquaintances end in '-um' (kunningjum)?
The preposition frá (from) always forces the following noun into the dative case. In Icelandic, almost all plural nouns end in -um in the dative case. So the plural word kunningjar (acquaintances) becomes kunningjum.
Why is 'your' written as þínum here?
Possessive words like 'your' must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Because kunningjum is dative plural, þinn changes to its dative plural form, which is þínum. Notice how both words share the same -um ending here, which is a helpful pattern to look out for in the dative plural!
How do we get 'The book' from Bókin?
In Icelandic, the word 'the' is attached to the end of the noun. The base word is bók (book), which is a feminine noun. To say 'the book' when it is the main subject of the sentence, you add the feminine ending -in to get Bókin.
Is kunningi the normal word for 'friend'?
Not quite. A kunningi is an acquaintance or a casual friend, someone you know but maybe aren't super close to. If you are talking about a closer friend, you would use the word vinur.
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