Breakdown of Dómarinn er að lesa nýju sönnunina.
vera
to be
nýr
new
að
to (infinitive marker)
lesa
to read
dómarinn
the judge
sönnunin
the proof
Questions & Answers about Dómarinn er að lesa nýju sönnunina.
Why is the adjective nýju instead of ný or nýja?
Because it describes a definite noun, sönnunina (the proof), it must use the weak declension. It is also the direct object of the verb að lesa (to read), which puts it in the accusative case. In the weak declension, feminine singular adjectives in the accusative case end in -u, making it nýju.
How can I tell the gender of sönnunina (the proof)?
The base noun is sönnun. In Icelandic, nouns ending in -un are almost always feminine. The -ina ending is the attached definite article ('the') for a feminine singular noun in the accusative case.
Why do we use er að lesa instead of just les?
Icelandic uses vera að (to be) plus the infinitive (here, lesa) specifically for ongoing actions, just like the English 'is reading'. If you meant 'reads' as a general habit, you would use the simple present tense les.
Why does dómarinn (the judge) end in -nn instead of -inn?
The base noun is dómari, which already ends in a vowel. When a masculine word in the nominative case ends in a vowel, the attached definite article ('the') simply adds -nn instead of -inn.
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