Breakdown of Þessi fallegi prins á sverðið.
fallegur
beautiful
eiga
to own / to have (a relationship)
þessi
this (m/f)
prinsinn
the prince
sverðið
the sword
Questions & Answers about Þessi fallegi prins á sverðið.
Why does the adjective for handsome end in "-i" (fallegi) instead of its usual dictionary form?
The word þessi (this) is a demonstrative. In Icelandic, pointing words like "this" or "that" force the adjective after them into its "weak" form. For a masculine noun like prins in the subject position (nominative case), the weak adjective ending is -i, turning fallegur into fallegi.
How do we get the verb á from the infinitive eiga (to own)?
Eiga is an irregular verb. In the present tense, its singular forms change the vowel completely: I own (ég á), you own (þú átt), and he/she/it owns (hann/hún/það á). Because "this handsome prince" acts as a third-person "he", we use á.
If þessi means "this", why doesn't prins have the word "the" attached to it?
In Icelandic, when you use þessi (this) with a noun, the noun usually stays in its basic indefinite form without the attached "the" ending. So we just say þessi fallegi prins (this handsome prince), not þessi fallegi prinsinn.
What case is sverðið (the sword) in, and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object—the thing that the prince owns. Sverð is a neuter noun, and neuter nouns always look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the nominative (subject) case, so it remains sverðið.
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