Breakdown of Fasteignasalinn sýnir stærsta húsið í hverfinu.
húsið
the house
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
sýna
to show
stærstur
biggest
fasteignasalinn
the real estate agent
hverfið
the neighborhood
Questions & Answers about Fasteignasalinn sýnir stærsta húsið í hverfinu.
Why do we use stærsta here instead of the basic superlative form stærst?
Because we are talking about the biggest house (húsið). When an adjective comes before a noun with a definite article attached to it, the adjective must use its weak form. For a neuter accusative word like húsið, the weak superlative ending is -a, making it stærsta.
Does stærsta mean "the biggest" all by itself?
Yes! In English, we say "the biggest house," but in Icelandic, the definite article is already attached to the noun (húsið). The weak adjective ending on stærsta signals that it matches a definite noun. You don't need a separate word for "the" before the adjective here.
Why is the noun húsið in the accusative case?
It is the direct object of the verb sýnir (shows). The verb sýna forces the thing being shown into the accusative case. Since hús is a neuter noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (nominative) form.
Why does the word for neighborhood (hverfi) become hverfinu?
The preposition í (in) forces the word into the dative case because it describes a static location (where the house is currently located). Hverfi is a neuter noun, and when you make it definite ("the neighborhood") in the dative case, it takes the ending -nu.
How is the long word fasteignasalinn formed?
It is a compound word made of fasteign (real estate, literally "fixed property") and sali (seller or dealer). The -nn at the very end is the masculine definite article, so the whole word literally translates to "the real estate seller".
Learn Fasteignasalinn sýnir stærsta húsið í hverfinu 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