Definite Article
The definite article always uses the same number of "n" which means that it doesn't matter whether it's added as a suffix to the word or written as a separate word.
Example:
- Separate word: Hin skemmtilega kona. - "The funny woman"
- Suffixed: Skemmtilega konan.
Example:
- Separate word: Hinn hávaxni maður. - "The tall man"
- Suffixed: Hávaxni maðurinn.
Two "n" are used whenever a possessive pronoun has got "i" (minni, minnar, minn, minna..).
One "n" is used whenever a possessive pronoun has got' 'í' (mínum, míns, mína, mín..).
The number of "n" in a possessive pronoun always corresponds to the number of "n" of the definite article of the same form:
Example:
- Hesturinn. → Minn hestur. - "The horse" → "My horse" (Nom. Sg. Masc.)
- Hestinum. → Mínum hesti. - "To the horse" → "To my horse" (Dat. Sg. Masc.)
- Ákvarðananna. → Minna ákvarðana. - "Of the choices" → "Of my choices" (Gen. Pl. Fem.)
Read more about this topic: N-rule
Famous quotes containing the words definite and/or article:
“The artistic temperament is a disease that affects amateurs.... Artists of a large and wholesome vitality get rid of their art easily, as they breathe easily or perspire easily. But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure, and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“Although there is no universal agreement as to a definition of life, its biological manifestations are generally considered to be organization, metabolism, growth, irritability, adaptation, and reproduction.”
—The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, the first sentence of the article on “life” (based on wording in the First Edition, 1935)