Breakdown of Bóndinn stendur úti á túni.
úti
outside
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
standa
to stand
bóndinn
the farmer
túnið
the hayfield
Questions & Answers about Bóndinn stendur úti á túni.
The lesson is about the genitive plural of bare nouns. What are the genitive plural forms of the nouns in this sentence?
Why does the sentence use úti instead of út for 'out'?
In Icelandic, many directional adverbs have different forms for motion and stationary location. Because the farmer is just standing there (no motion), we use the stationary form úti (out/outside). If he were going out into the field, you would use the motion form út.
Why is túni in the dative case?
The preposition á can take either the accusative or dative case. It takes the dative case when describing a stationary location or state ('where'). Since the farmer is standing still in the field, tún takes its dative singular ending -i to become túni. If he were moving onto the field ('where to'), it would take the accusative case.
Does tún just mean any type of field?
Not exactly. A tún specifically refers to a cultivated hayfield or the enclosed home field around a farmhouse. For a wild meadow or a plowed crop field, you would use different words like engi or akur.
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