FallbeygingarA1

Nominative & Accusative Cases

Nominative case (nefnifall) for subjects and accusative case (þolfall) for direct objects

Learning Goal

Can distinguish nominative (subject) from accusative (direct object) case and apply correct noun endings

Exam Skills:VISC-A1

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Ég sé hundinn.

I see the dog.

Konan les bók.

The woman reads a book.

Barnið borðar epli.

The child eats an apple.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Íslenska hefur fjögur föll. Tvö fyrstu eru nefnifall og þolfall:

FallNotkunSpurn
Nefnifall (nominative)Frumlag (subject)Hver? / Hvað?
Þolfall (accusative)Beint andlag (direct object)Hvern? / Hvað?

Karlkyns dæmi:

ÓákveðiðÁkveðið
Nefnifallhesturhesturinn
Þolfallhesthestinn

Kvenkyns dæmi:

ÓákveðiðÁkveðið
Nefnifallkonakonan
Þolfallkonukonuna

Hvorugkyns dæmi:

ÓákveðiðÁkveðið
Nefnifallbarnbarnið
Þolfallbarnbarnið

Athugið: Hvorugkyn breytist EKKI á milli nefnifalls og þolfalls!

Using nominative for direct objects (*Ég sé hestur instead of Ég sé hest). Neuter nouns don't change — misleading learners into thinking no nouns change. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has no case endings on nouns — this is entirely new. Only pronouns show case (he→him).

Ég sé hundinn.

I see the dog.

Hundur (nom.) → hundinn (acc. definite).

Konan les bók.

The woman reads a book.

Konan = nominative subject. Bók = accusative object.

Barnið borðar epli.

The child eats an apple.

Neuter epli stays the same in nominative and accusative.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course
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