Learn Icelandic: Lögreglan var að skoða sönnunina. - The police were examining the evidence.

In English, the word 'police' is treated as plural ('the police were'). However, the Icelandic word lögreglan is a singular feminine noun. Because it is a singular noun, it uses the singular verb var (was) instead of the plural voru.

How does the past continuous pattern work in this sentence?

Icelandic shows that an action was ongoing in the past by combining the past tense of vera (to be) with að and the infinitive verb. In this sentence, var + að + skoða creates the meaning 'was examining' (or 'were examining').

Why does sönnunina end in -ina?

The base word for 'evidence' or 'proof' is sönnun, which is a feminine noun. The verb skoða (to examine) causes the object receiving the action to be in the accusative case. For feminine singular nouns, the attached definite article (the) in the accusative case is -ina, giving us sönnunina (the evidence).

Does skoða just mean 'to examine'?

The verb að skoða is very common and can translate to looking at, viewing, inspecting, or examining something. While you might use it for looking at an apartment or a tourist attraction, in this context it specifically means examining or inspecting the evidence.