Language/Icelandic/Grammar/Prepositional-Phrases

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◀️ Common Prepositions — Previous Lesson	Next Lesson — Weather Vocabulary ▶️

Icelandic → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Prepositions → Prepositional Phrases

In this lesson, you will learn how to form and use prepositional phrases in Icelandic to express various relationships between words in a sentence. This lesson assumes that you are already familiar with the most common prepositions in Icelandic, including their meanings, usage, and how they affect the case of the nouns they govern. If you need a refresher on this topic, please refer to the lesson "Common Prepositions" in this course.

What are prepositional phrases?

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by an object, which can be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. The object of the preposition can be further modified by adjectives or other words. Prepositional phrases are used to show how a particular noun or pronoun relates to the rest of the sentence. Some common examples of prepositional phrases in English include "in the house", "on the table", and "with my friend".

In Icelandic, prepositional phrases have a similar structure and function, but with some additional nuances to keep in mind. The most important of these is the fact that Icelandic has a case system, which means that the form of the noun or pronoun in the prepositional phrase may change depending on the preposition and its grammatical relationship to the other words in the sentence. This is something that we will explore in more detail later in the lesson.

Forming prepositional phrases in Icelandic

To form a prepositional phrase in Icelandic, you need to follow these steps:

Choose a preposition that expresses the relationship you want to convey.
Identify the object of the preposition, which can be a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
Modify the object of the preposition with any necessary adjectives or other words.
If the object of the preposition is a noun or pronoun, be sure to use the correct case depending on the preposition's relationship to the rest of the sentence.

Let's look at some examples:

Icelandic	Pronunciation	English
á húsinu	ow (rhymes with "cow") HOO-sih-nu	on the house
með móður sinni	mehth MO-thur SIN-nee	with his/her mother
í bílnum minn	ee BEEL-nuhm minn	in my car
fyrir framan manninn	FY-rir FRA-man MUN-nin	in front of the man

In these examples, we can see that the prepositional phrases consist of a preposition (á, með, í, fyrir) and an object (húsinu, móður sinni, bílnum minn, manninn). The object may be a noun (hús, móðir, bíll, maður), a pronoun (sinni), or a noun phrase (manninn). In each case, the object is modified by any necessary adjectives (none in these examples). However, the key difference between these phrases is the case of the object, which changes depending on the preposition's relationship to the rest of the sentence. We'll explore this in more detail in the next section.

Prepositions and case in Icelandic

As mentioned earlier, one of the key features of prepositional phrases in Icelandic is the fact that the object of the preposition may change depending on the preposition's relationship to the rest of the sentence. Specifically, the case of the object may change to reflect whether it is the subject, direct object, indirect object, or possessive in the sentence. Here's a quick refresher on these cases:

Nominative: The case used for the subject of the sentence.
Accusative: The case used for the direct object of the sentence.
Dative: The case used for the indirect object of the sentence.
Genitive: The case used to show possession or relationships between nouns.

The preposition itself does not change to reflect the case of the object; rather, it is the object that changes to match the preposition's relationship to the rest of the sentence. Let's look at some examples to see how this works:

Icelandic	Pronunciation	English
á húsinu	ow HOO-sih-nu	on the house	hús	hoos	house (nominative)	húsið	HOO-sidh	house (accusative)
með móður sinni	mehth MO-thur SIN-nee	with his/her mother	móðir	MO-thir	mother (nominative)	móður	MO-thur	mother (dative)
í bílnum minn	ee BEEL-nuhm minn	in my car	bíll	BEEL-l	car (nominative)	bíl	BEEL	car (accusative)
fyrir framan manninn	FY-rir FRA-man MUN-nin	in front of the man	maður	MAH-thur	man (nominative)	mann	MUN	man (accusative)

In these examples, we can see that the object of the preposition changes depending on whether it is the subject (nominative), direct object (accusative), or indirect object (dative) of the sentence. Additionally, we can see that the form of the noun changes slightly depending on its case. For example, the noun for "house" changes from hús (nominative) to húsið (accusative) in the second example. Similarly, the noun for "car" changes from bíll (nominative) to bíl (accusative) in the third example.

It's worth noting that not all prepositions govern the same case. For example, the preposition "til" typically governs the accusative case, while the preposition "í" typically governs the dative case. It's important to learn the correct case for each preposition in order to use prepositional phrases correctly in context.

Using prepositional phrases in context

Now that we know how to form prepositional phrases in Icelandic and how to use the correct case for the object of the preposition, it's time to learn how to use these phrases in context. Prepositional phrases can be used in a variety of ways in Icelandic, some of which are similar to English and others that may be less familiar. Here are some common uses of prepositional phrases in Icelandic:

To indicate location or position: "á húsinu" (on the house), "í rúminu" (in the room), "fyrir utan húsið" (outside the house)
To indicate movement or direction: "til baka" (backwards), "að innan" (inside), "eftir leiðinni" (along the way)
To indicate time or duration: "eftir helgina" (after the weekend), "í þriggja tíma tíma" (in three hours), "í nokkra daga" (in a few days)
To indicate manner or means: "með hendi" (by hand), "í flugvélinni" (by airplane), "með ökutækinu" (by car)
To indicate possession or relationship: "af mínum böndum" (from my hands), "til ættingja hans" (to his relatives), "með húsinu sitt" (with his/her house)

It's important to pay attention to the case of the object when using prepositional phrases in context. In some cases, the case may change depending on the verb or other elements in the sentence. For example, if the verb in the sentence requires the dative case, the object of the preposition may need to be in the dative as well. This is something that we will explore in more detail in the next lesson on cases.

Practice

To practice forming and using prepositional phrases in Icelandic, try the following exercises:

Create a prepositional phrase for each of the following English phrases: "on the beach", "with your friend", "in front of the library", "by the river"
Translate the following Icelandic sentences into English, paying close attention to the prepositional phrases and their cases: "Ég bý í húsi á götu þinni", "Hann kemur aftur til landsins eftir útibúðina", "Kötturinn var á borðinu fyrir framan Guðjóna", "Ég fer heim í dag eftir vinnu"
Write a short paragraph (3-5 sentences) describing a recent experience or event using at least three different prepositional phrases. Be sure to use the correct cases for the objects of the prepositions.

Conclusion

In this lesson, we learned how to form and use prepositional phrases in Icelandic to express various relationships between words in a sentence. We saw how prepositional phrases consist of a preposition and an object, which may need to change depending on the preposition's relationship to the rest of the sentence. We also saw how prepositional phrases can be used to indicate location, movement, time, manner, and possession. Finally, we had some practice exercises to help solidify our understanding of this topic. In the next lesson, we will continue our exploration of the Icelandic case system by focusing on the nominative and accusative cases.

Table of Contents - Icelandic Course - 0 to A1

Course Presentation

Greetings and Introductions

Pronouns and Articles

Numbers and Time

Present Tense Verbs

Everyday Activities

Adjectives and Adverbs

Food and Dining

Questions and Negation

Travel and Transportation

Prepositions

Weather and Seasons

Icelandic Culture and Traditions

Other Lessons

Sources

◀️ Common Prepositions — Previous Lesson	Next Lesson — Weather Vocabulary ▶️

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