Nouns in -andi (nemandi)

Level 4

nemandi (student) → nemendur (students). In the plural, -andi becomes -endur.

How It Works

The forms.

  • Singular: nemandi, nemanda, nemanda, nemanda. With the article: nemandinn, nemandann, nemandanum, nemandans.
  • Plural: nemendur, nemendur, nemendum, nemenda. With the article: nemendurnir, nemendurna, nemendunum, nemendanna.

Common words. eigandi (owner) → eigendur, kaupandi (buyer) → kaupendur, seljandi (seller) → seljendur, lesandi (reader) → lesendur.

Where they come from. The ending -andi is the ending of the present participle (brosandi, smiling). The participle never changes, but these nouns decline like any other noun.

bóndi and frændi. A few older words end in -ndi without the a. bóndi (farmer) changes its vowel in the plural: bændur, bændur, bændum, bænda (see plurals with a vowel change). frændi (relative) keeps its vowel: frændur.

Watch the plural. Most masculine nouns in -i take -ar in the plural (tímar), but these nouns never do. nemendur is also the same in the nominative and the accusative.

Examples (6)

  1. Það eru tuttugu nemendur í bekknum.

    There are twenty students in the class.

    Word by Word: It are twenty students in the class.

  2. Kennarinn talaði við nemanda eftir tímann.

    The teacher spoke to a student after class.

    Word by Word: The teacher talked with student after the class.

    við takes the accusative here: nemanda.

  3. Eigandi hússins býr í Noregi.

    The owner of the house lives in Norway.

    Word by Word: Owner of the house lives in Norway.

  4. Hún er ein af eigendum fyrirtækisins.

    She is one of the owners of the company.

    Word by Word: She is one of owners of the company.

    eigendum is the dative plural after af.

  5. Bændur heyja á sumrin.

    Farmers make hay in the summer.

    Word by Word: Farmers make-hay on the summers.

  6. Nemendurnir fóru heim klukkan þrjú.

    The students went home at three o'clock.

    Word by Word: The students went home the clock three.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving the plural an -ar ending like tími.

    Það eru tuttugu nemandar í bekknum.
    Það eru tuttugu nemendur í bekknum.

    Nouns in -andi form the plural with -endur, not -ar.

  • Keeping the nominative -i for an object.

    Ég þekki þennan nemandi.
    Ég þekki þennan nemanda.

    The object of þekkja is in the accusative, and the accusative singular ends in -a: nemanda.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Nouns in -andi (nemandi)Level 4

Learn This First

-andi nouns build on weak masculine nouns and the present participle.

Words in This Pattern

-andinemandinemendurbóndi-a