Nouns in -andi (nemandi)
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)
- Það eru tuttugu nemendur í bekknum.
There are twenty students in the class.
Word by Word: It are twenty students in the class.
- 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.
- Eigandi hússins býr í Noregi.
The owner of the house lives in Norway.
Word by Word: Owner of the house lives in Norway.
- 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.
- Bændur heyja á sumrin.
Farmers make hay in the summer.
Word by Word: Farmers make-hay on the summers.
- 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
Learn This First
-andi nouns build on weak masculine nouns and the present participle.