Question 1

Why is the verb muna used here? Isn't that the infinitive dictionary form?

Accepted Answer

Muna is the infinitive, but it is also the "they" form (third-person plural) in the present tense. The subject here is margir íbúar (many inhabitants). Muna is a slightly unusual verb: its singular forms are ég man, þú manst, hann man, while its plural forms are við munum, þið munið, þeir/þær/þau muna.

Question 2

Why is the word for the number töluna instead of talan?

Accepted Answer

The verb muna (to remember) requires its object to be in the accusative case. The base word is the feminine noun tala. In the accusative case, it becomes tölu, and adding the feminine definite article for "the" gives us töluna.

Question 3

Why does the first vowel change from 'a' in tala to 'ö' in töluna?

Accepted Answer

This happens because of a common Icelandic vowel change called the U-shift. Whenever an 'a' in the stem of a word is followed by a 'u' in the ending (like the accusative ending in tölu), the 'a' changes to 'ö'. The 'ö' remains even after the definite article -na is attached.

Question 4

Why does the sentence start with the verb Muna?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, you form a yes/no question by putting the verb at the very beginning of the sentence. Icelandic does not use helper verbs like "do" or "does", so the sentence literally reads "Remember many inhabitants the number?".

Question 5

Is tala the right word to use for all kinds of numbers?

Accepted Answer

Tala is the general word for a numerical value, figure, or count, like the large population numbers and prices you are learning in this lesson. However, if you are talking about an identification number, like a phone number or a ticket number, you would use the word númer.

Muna margir íbúar töluna?

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