There is no indefinite article in Icelandic, meaning that the word barn (child) means both child and a child. There is no translation for a or an in Icelandic.
In the following table, the nouns bíll – car, nemandi – pupil, rós – rose, kirkja – church, and barn – child are given in all of their cases in the indefinite form:
singular | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | bíll | nemandi | rós | kirkja | barn |
accusative | bíl | nemanda | rós | kirkju | barn |
dative | bíl | nemanda | rós | kirkju | barni |
genitive | bíls | nemanda | rósar | kirkju | barns |
plural | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | bílar | nemendur | rósir | kirkjur | börn |
accusative | bíla | nemendur | rósir | kirkjur | börn |
dative | bílum | nemendum | rósum | kirkjum | börnum |
genitive | bíla | nemenda | rósa | kirkja | barna |
The definite article (the) is suffixed to the noun and its declensions, instead of preceding it as a separate word as in English. The table below shows the definite article and its various declensions that need to be added to the end of each form of the noun:
singular | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | inn | nn | in | n | ið |
accusative | inn | nn | ina | na | ið |
dative | num | num | inni | nni | nu |
genitive | ins | ns | innar | nnar | ins |
plural | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | nir | nar | nar | nar | in |
accusative | na | nar | nar | nar | in |
dative | num | num | num | num | num |
genitive | nna | nna | nna | nna | nna |
The definite forms of the five nouns given above, with the definite article attached to the end:
singular | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | bíllinn | nemandinn | rósina | kirkjan | barnið |
accusative | bílinn | nemandann | rósinni | kirkjuni | barnið |
dative | bílnum | nemandanum | rósinna | kirkjunna | barninu |
genitive | bílsins | nemandans | rósarinnar | kirkjunnir | barnsins |
plural | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
-ur, -l, -n | -i | no ending | -a | ||
nominative | bílarnir | nemendurnir | rósirnar | kirkjurnar | börnin |
accusative | bílana | nemendurna | rósirnar | kirkjurnar | börnin |
dative | bílunum | nemendunum | rósunum | kirkjunum | börnunum |
genitive | bílanna | nemandanna | rósanna | kirkjanna | barnanna |
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