Do you know that according to some studies grammatical gender has an impact on our worldview? According to the concept of linguistic determinism, language determines the way we think, as well as thought processes such as categorization, memory, and perception. Grammatical gender plays an important role in this process, especially in our perceptions of objects and the attributes we associate with them.
Some languages do not have a gender system at all and others do. English has only some traces of the Old-English gender system, such as the personal pronouns and some gender-specific nouns. In Icelandic, the nouns can be masculine, feminine or neuter. The adjectives and some of the numerals (1 to 4) must be agreed with the gender of the nouns. This is why it is extremely important to know the gender of a noun. So, how can you recognize it at first glance?
Guess what… as with too many things in the Icelandic language, there is just no way to know for sure only by looking at the word – there are some typical endings for each gender, but sometimes you can not know (especially when it comes to the nouns without an ending) until checking in the dictionary or seeing what the definite article is.
Typical endings
Typical masculine nouns endings are:
- -ur
- -i
- -ll
- -nn
Feminine nouns often end in -a or do not have an ending. Nouns with final -ing or -un are almost always feminine.
Neuter nouns also have no ending and a final accented vowel is common with them.
So, the masculine nouns are quite easy to recognize, but it is not always so easy to distinguish between the feminine and the neuter nouns in the cases in which the noun does not have an ending.
Definite article
Icelandic does not have an indefinite article. It does have a definite article and unlike English, the definite article is not placed in front of the noun but is attached to its end like a suffix. You should first decline a noun and then add the article. The definite article varies per case, gender and number. It is easily remembered though.
karlkyn (kk.) – masculine:
jakki (jacket):
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | jakki | nn | jakkar | nir |
| þf. | jakka | nn | jakka | na |
| þgf. | jakka | num | jökku(m) | num |
| ef. | jakka | ns | jakka | nna |
steinn (stone):
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | steinn | inn | steinar | nir |
| þf. | stein | inn | steina | na |
| þgf. | steini | num | steinu(m) | num |
| ef. | steins | ins | steina | nna |
The first noun is weak and the second one is strong. The only difference between the definite articles of these two is the additional i in the nominative and accusative singulars. Even if you do not know that, it would be strange to have steinnnn, intead of steinninn.
The same goes for the feminine and neuter nouns. Think of it like that: If when declined the nouns end in a consonant, then i is needed as a connecting part to the article. There is no need to try to remember that, it will come naturally very fast.
kvenkyn (kvk) – feminine:
stelpa (girl)
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | stelpa | n | stelpur | nar |
| þf. | stelpu | na | stelpur | nar |
| þgf. | stelpu | nni | stelpu(m) | num |
| ef. | stelpu | nnar | stelpna | nna |
spurning (question)
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | spurning | in | spurningar | nar |
| þf. | spurningu | na | spurningar | nar |
| þgf. | spurningu | nni | spurningu(m) | num |
| ef. | spurningar | innar | spurninga | nna |
bók (book)
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | bók | in | bækur | nar |
| þf. | bók | ina | bækur | nar |
| þgf. | bók | inni | bóku(m) | num |
| ef. | bók | innar | bóka | nna |
hvorugkyn (hk.) – neuter:
auga (eye)
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | auga | ð | augu | n |
| þf. | auga | ð | augu | n |
| þgf. | auga | nu | augu(m) | num |
| ef. | auga | ns | augna | nna |
hús (house)
| Eintala | Definite article | Fleirtala | Definite article | |
| nf. | hús | ið | hús | in |
| þf. | hús | ið | hús | in |
| þgf. | húsi | nu | húsu(m) | num |
| ef. | húss | ins | húsa | nna |
Learning tips:
- The definite article is the same for all genders in the dative and genitive plurals. The fewer things to remember, the better!
- Try to group the articles in your head – for example, the nominative singular definite article is the same as the accusative singular for the masculine and the neuter nouns. The nominative plural is the same as the accusative plural for the feminine nouns and so on.
- Pay attention to the definite article, since once you see a word with a definite article, you will know its gender (except if you see the dative or genitive plurals)
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