OIcel definite article
As in modern Scandinavian languages, the OIcel definite article is present both as a suffix on nouns and as an independent word. The form of the definite article depends on gender, number, and case. This follows strong adjective declension on the root in-.
| №.case | masc | fem | neut |
|---|---|---|---|
| sg.nom | inn | in | it |
| sg.gen | ins | innar | ins |
| sg.dat | inum | inni | inu |
| sg.acc | inn | ina | it |
| pl.nom | inir | inar | in |
| pl.gen | inna | inna | inna |
| pl.dat | inum | inum | inum |
| pl.acc | ina | inar | in |
These appear as standalone words in a noun phrase containing adjectives, e.g.
- inn gamli maðr ‘the old man’
If a definite noun is the soul constituent of a noun phrase, then the article appears enclitically at the end of the noun.
- maðrinn nom.sg ‘the man‘
- gjǫfin nom.sg ‘the gift’
If the declined noun ends in a vowel or an -r in plural1 the i is removed from the definite suffix.
- sagan nom.sg ‘the saga’
- armarnir nom.pl ‘the arms’
Finally the ending -um combines with inum to form unum
- gjǫfunum dat.pl ‘the gifts‘
For examples, see OIcel noun phrase examples.
#state/develop | #lang/en | #SemBr
Footnotes
-
Not in singular, for example kerlingarinnar gen.sg ‘the old woman’. ↩