Word
Hann situr uppi á þakinu.
Meaning
He sits up on the roof.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hann situr uppi á þakinu.
hann
he
sitja
to sit
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
uppi
upstairs / up (location)
Questions & Answers about Hann situr uppi á þakinu.
Why do we use uppi here instead of just upp?
uppi describes a fixed position, meaning something is already up high. upp is used for motion, like going upwards. Because he is just sitting on the roof and not climbing up to it, we need the stationary position word uppi.
Could I just say Hann situr á þakinu without uppi?
Yes! Just like in English, leaving out the word for 'up' and just saying 'He sits on the roof' is perfectly correct. Adding uppi simply provides extra descriptive detail about where he is.
Why is the word for roof þakinu and not þakið?
The preposition á (on) forces the noun that follows it into the dative case when we are talking about a fixed location. þakið is the nominative (subject) form for 'the roof', but its dative form is þakinu.
How is the word 'the' attached to þakinu?
In Icelandic, the definite article ('the') attaches to the end of the noun. The base dative word for roof is þaki. To make it 'the roof', we attach the dative neuter article ending -nu, creating þakinu.