No Word for A
No a or an: bók = a book. Þetta er bók. (This is a book.) The word for the is an ending: bókin = the book.
How It Works
Three ways to say a noun
- bók: a book, or just book.
- bókin: the book. The article is an ending. See The Article at the End of the Noun.
- ein bók: one book. See Numbers One to Four.
Where English needs a
- After er: Þetta er bók. See This Is.
- For jobs: Hún er kennari. (She is a teacher.)
- For objects: Ég keypti bíl. (I bought a car.) The noun still takes its case ending: bíll becomes bíl.
- In questions: Viltu epli? (Do you want an apple?)
Plural too
A plural noun on its own means some or just the plural: Ég keypti bækur (I bought some books). epli is the same in the singular and plural, so Ég keypti epli can mean I bought an apple or I bought apples.
Because einn really means one, Ég á einn hund means I have one dog, not just a dog. In speech you will also hear einn used for a certain: Ég hitti einn strák í gær (I met a certain guy yesterday). When you simply mean a, leave it out.
Examples (6)
- Þetta er bók.
This is a book.
Word by Word: This is book.
- Ég á hund.
I have a dog.
Word by Word: I own dog.
hundur (dog) is the object, so it is in the accusative: hund.
- Hún er kennari.
She is a teacher.
Word by Word: She is teacher.
Jobs never take a word for a.
- Ég keypti bíl í gær.
I bought a car yesterday.
Word by Word: I bought car in yesterday.
- Viltu epli?
Would you like an apple?
Word by Word: Want-you apple?
- Bókin er á borðinu.
The book is on the table.
Word by Word: Book-the is on table-the.
For the, the article is added to the end: bókin, borðinu.
Common Mistakes
Adding ein, einn or eitt when you just mean a.
Þetta er ein bók.Þetta er bók.Þetta er ein bók means This is one book. To say This is a book, use the noun on its own.
Adding the article when you mean a.
Ég keypti bílinn í gær.Ég keypti bíl í gær.bílinn means the car, so Ég keypti bílinn says you bought a car you already talked about. For a car, use bíl.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The missing word for a is learned with nouns and their gender.
Related Patterns
Practice No Word for A in Bubblegum
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