Gestumbl Heiðr 5VIII (Heiðr 52)/1 — inn ‘the’
Hverr er sá inn mikli, er líðr mold yfir?
Svelgr hann vötn ok við;
glygg hann óaz, en gumna eigi,
ok yrkir á sól til saka.
Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Hverr er sá inn mikli, er líðr yfir mold? Hann svelgr vötn ok við; hann óaz glygg, en eigi gumna, ok yrkir á sól til saka. Heiðrekr konungr, hyggðu at gátu.
Who is that, the great one, who moves over the earth? He swallows lakes and wood; he fears the wind, but not men, and sets upon the sun to harm [it]. King Heiðrekr, think about the riddle.
grammar
Pronouns and determiners: Definite article
The definite article is normally suffixed to nouns, except in some cases where it is used with an adjective. If the noun form ends in a vowel, the 'i' in the article is dropped. If the noun form ends in 'um', the 'm' and 'i' are both dropped. E.g. hesta (acc. pl.) > hestana (acc. pl. definite); hestum (dat. pl.) > hestunum (dat. pl. definite)
| masc. | fem. | neut. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sing. | N A G D | inn inn ins inum | in ina innar inni | it it ins inu |
| pl. | N A G D | inir ina inna inum | inar inar inna inum | in in inna inum |