Language/Icelandic/Grammar/Articles

Articles in Icelandic

Icelandic does not have an indefinite article (a/an in English), and the definite article (the) is usually added onto the end of the word.

The examples below show three nouns, one for each respective gender, declined in the nominative:

• masculine: drengur - "(a) boy" becomes drengurinn - "the boy"

• feminine: stúlka - "(a) girl" becomes stúlkan - "the girl"

• neuter: barn - "(a) child" becomes barnið - "the child"

The independent or free-standing definite article (not attached to the noun as a suffix) exists in Icelandic in the form hinn. It is mostly used in poetry and irregularly elsewhere (there are hardly any rules for the latter case; it is mainly a matter of taste).

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Negation, How to Use Be & Verbs.

Sources

Book: Learn to Speak Icelandic: without even trying, Stephen Hernandez

Other Lessons

• Possession
• Adjectives
• Definite Article
• Gender
• Conditional Mood
• Icelandic Articles
• Verbs
• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Questions
• Prepositions
• Negation
• Adverbs