Breakdown of Hann fer í stóra réttarsalinn vegna gamla dómsins.
hann
he
stór
big
gamall
old
fara
to go
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
vegna
because of
réttarsalurinn
the courtroom
dómurinn
the judgment
Questions & Answers about Hann fer í stóra réttarsalinn vegna gamla dómsins.
Why is the adjective stóra (big) used here instead of the usual masculine accusative stóran?
Because the noun it describes, réttarsalinn (the courtroom), has the attached definite article (-inn). When an adjective comes before a definite noun, we use the weak declension. For masculine, singular, accusative adjectives, the weak ending is simply -a, making it stóra.
Wait, gamla (old) ends in -a just like stóra, but isn't it in a different case?
Yes! The adjective gamla is in the genitive case, while stóra is in the accusative case. The weak declension for adjectives is very repetitive. For singular masculine adjectives, the weak ending is -a for the accusative, dative, and genitive cases. So, both adjectives end up looking exactly the same here!
Why is réttarsalinn in the accusative case here instead of the dative?
The preposition í can take either the accusative or the dative case. Here, it takes the accusative because there is movement or direction involved (fer í, meaning "goes into"). If he were already standing still inside the courtroom, í would take the dative case to show location.
Why are the words gamla dómsins in the genitive case?
They are in the genitive case because of the preposition vegna (because of). This preposition always forces the noun (and its attached adjective) that follows it into the genitive case. Since dómur is a masculine noun, its genitive form with the definite article becomes dómsins.
How is the compound noun réttarsalinn built?
It is made of réttar (the genitive singular of réttur, meaning court or law) and salur (hall or room), plus the masculine definite article -inn at the very end. Literally, it means "the hall of court".
Learn Hann fer í stóra réttarsalinn vegna gamla dómsins 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