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When Do Strong Adjectives Go With Definite Nouns?

· 2 min read
Tbrennan
Tbrennan
Project Founder

Sæl öllsömul!

This post responds to a question I often receive. Advanced Icelandic learners know that an indefinite noun is supposed to be accompanied by strong-form adjectives and definite nouns with weak adjectives. But this is not always the case.

Solving an ambiguity​

Consider the two following examples:

  1. Ég gekk inn langan ganginn.
  2. Ég gekk inn langa ganginn.

Both of these sentences would be translated the same way in English: "I walked down the long hallway." However, the English translation contains an ambiguity as to alternatives. Did you walk down the hallway, which just so happened to be long, or did you walk down the long hallway as opposed to the shorter one?

In English, this ambiguity needs to be solved with more content, but Icelandic does it with adjectives. When the weak form is used, there are alternatives, and when the strong form is used, there are no alternatives.

  1. Ég gekk inn langan ganginn. - (I walked down the only hallway; it was long.)
  2. Ég gekk inn langa ganginn. - (I walked down the long hallway, not the short one .)

To test your understanding, consider the differences between these two ways of saying, "I fed the blue dogs."

  1. Ég gaf bláu hundunum að borða.
  2. Ég gaf bláum hundunum að borða.

How common is this?​

Using a strong adjective with definite nouns is not a common thing to do in regular speech. It is mostly done in novels and books to be more precise. The only real difference is that with the strong adjective, the possibility now exists that you are talking about a subset of the things mentioned instead of all of them.

Examples from real sources​

Below, find examples from real Icelandic books that used strong adjectives with definite nouns. Consider what difference a weak adjective would make instead of a strong adjective.

  1. "[S]yfjuleg þögn hvíldi yfir stórum, ferköntuðum húsunum við Runnaflöt." - Harry Potter og Fönixreglan eftir J.K. Rowling
  2. "Kertaljósið á stigagagnum spegliðist í bronslitu hárinu, brúnu augunum, og fallegu húðinni." - Vetrarhörkur eftir Hildi Knútsdóttur