Passinn er enn gildur.

Passinn = passi + -inn.

• passi is the noun
• -inn is the suffixed definite article, meaning the

So passinn means the passport / the pass.

A very common Icelandic pattern is that the is attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article onto the noun itself.

So instead of:

• the passport

you often get:

• passinn = passport-the

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Icelandic.

Here, passinn is in the nominative singular.

That is because it is the subject of the sentence — the thing being talked about.

The basic idea is:

• Passinn = the subject
• er = is
• enn gildur = still valid

So nominative is exactly what you would expect here.

Er is the 3rd person singular present tense of vera (to be).

So it means is.

It is used because passinn is singular:

• Passinn er... = The passport is...

If the subject were plural, you would use eru instead:

• Passarnir eru... = The passports are...

Here, enn means still.

So:

• er enn gildur = is still valid

A useful thing to remember is that enn can also mean yet in other contexts, especially in negatives or questions.

Also, don’t confuse enn with en:

• enn = still / yet
• en = but / than

That double n matters.

Because enn is an adverb, and here it modifies the adjective gildur.

So the natural order is:

• er enn gildur = is still valid

That placement is very normal in Icelandic.
For an English speaker, it helps to think of it as working much like still in is still valid.

Gildur is an adjective meaning valid, in force, or legally/currently acceptable.

It is in the masculine singular nominative form because it agrees with passinn, which is masculine singular nominative.

So the agreement is:

• passinn → masculine singular nominative
• gildur → masculine singular nominative

If the noun were a different gender, the adjective form would change too.

Because this is a predicate adjective — it comes after the verb er and describes the subject.

In Icelandic, predicate adjectives normally use the strong form, even when the noun is definite.

So:

• Passinn er enn gildur.

not a weak adjective form.

This is different from the pattern you often see when an adjective comes before a definite noun.

The given order is the most neutral and natural:

• Passinn er enn gildur.

Icelandic does allow other word orders for emphasis, but the verb still follows the usual Icelandic V2 pattern.

For example, you could front enn for emphasis:

• Enn er passinn gildur.

That sounds more like Still, the passport is valid or The passport is still valid with extra emphasis.

For ordinary everyday use, the original sentence is the safest choice.

Yes. Gildur is a general word for something being valid or in effect.

For example, it can be used for:

• documents
• tickets
• laws
• permissions
• offers
• IDs

So this sentence pattern is very useful beyond this one example.