Breakdown of Læknirinn kemur einu sinni í viku.
læknirinn
the doctor
koma
to come
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
vikan
the week (f)
einu sinni
once
Questions & Answers about Læknirinn kemur einu sinni í viku.
Why do we use í viku for "a week" when we just learned á dag for "a day"?
In Icelandic, frequency expressions use different prepositions depending on the time word. You use á for days and years (á dag, á ári), but you must use í for weeks and months (í viku, í mánuði).
What is the literal meaning of einu sinni?
It literally means "one time." The word sinni means "time" (as in an occasion). It is in the dative case, which forces the number "one" to also be in the dative form, einu. This is the standard way to say "once."
Why is the word for week spelled viku here instead of its dictionary form vika?
When the preposition í is used in these "per time period" expressions, it requires the following noun to be in the dative case. The dative form of the feminine noun vika is viku.
Why is "the doctor" combined into the single word læknirinn?
As a quick review from earlier levels, instead of using a separate word for "the" before the noun, Icelandic attaches it to the end. The base word is læknir (doctor), and adding the masculine definite article -inn makes it læknirinn (the doctor).
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