Breakdown of Börnin eru spennt og hlakka til páskanna.
vera
to be
og
and
barnið
the child
spenntur
excited
hlakka til
to look forward to
páskarnir
the Easter
Questions & Answers about Börnin eru spennt og hlakka til páskanna.
Why does the sentence use páskanna instead of the dictionary form páskar?
This is because of the preposition til. The phrase hlakka til means "to look forward to", and the preposition til always forces the noun that follows it into the genitive case. Páskanna is the genitive definite form of páskar (Easter).
Is páskar a plural word? The ending -nna looks like a plural definite ending.
Why is the adjective for excited written as spennt here?
Adjectives in Icelandic must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. The base word is barn (child), which is a neuter noun. Since börnin (the children) is plural, the dictionary form of the adjective (spenntur) changes to its neuter plural form, spennt.
The word hlakka looks like the infinitive (to look forward). Why doesn't it have a conjugated ending?
It actually is conjugated! Hlakka is a regular verb where the third-person plural form (the "they" form) is exactly the same as the infinitive form. Since the subject is börnin (the children), it takes this "they" form.
Learn Börnin eru spennt og hlakka til páskanna 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