Level A1
There are four cases in Icelandic. The first case in the declension table is known as the “nominative case”.[a] It is the default case for a word and it shows that the word is doing something — it is the main subject of the sentence.
The helper words you use to force a word into the first case is „hér er“ (“here is”).
Verbs that cause the first case include „að vera“ (to be) and „að heita“ (to be called).
Examples:
  • Kötturinn minn borðaði kvöldmatinn minn. (My cat ate my dinner) – The cat is the main subject of the sentence.
  • Hann er ekki góður köttur. (He is not a good cat) – “He” is the main subject of the sentence, “good cat” is in the first case because „að vera“ causes the first case.
Footnotes
  • a. On Ylhýra we refer to it as the “first case” for simplicity’s sake since you will always see these four cases listed in the same order in the declension table.
    In Icelandic the first case is called nefnifall and is abbreviated as nf. Nefnifall literally means “naming case”. The English name “nominative” also means “related to naming” in Latin.
You are free to republish this article (CC0 / public domain)