Log inSign up

Við erum að skoða hóp kinda.

Við erum að skoða hóp kinda.
We are looking at a group of sheep.
From Lesson 86:Indefinite genitive plural (-a)·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Við erum að skoða hóp kinda.

Why is the word for sheep written as kinda here?
Because it is in the genitive plural case. To say 'a group of sheep', Icelandic uses the genitive case instead of a preposition. The noun kind (sheep) is plural and indefinite (bare) here. For almost all bare nouns in Icelandic, the genitive plural ending is simply -a.
Why do we use a form of kind for sheep instead of fé?
The word fé (or sauðfé) is an uncountable mass noun used for sheep as a general species or livestock. However, kind is the word for an individual, countable sheep. Since a group (hópur) is made up of individual, countable animals, we use the plural form of kind here.
Why is there no Icelandic word for 'at' in this sentence?
In English, you 'look at' something. But the Icelandic verb skoða means 'to view' or 'to examine' and takes a direct object. You do not need an extra preposition after it, which is why hóp connects directly to the verb.
Why is the word for group hóp instead of hópur?
The word hópur is a masculine noun. Because it is the direct object being looked at, the verb skoða forces it into the accusative case. For many masculine nouns, the accusative singular is formed by simply dropping the -ur ending, leaving us with hóp.

Learn Við erum að skoða hóp kinda and more in Icelandic

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Icelandic →