Glæpurinn var alvarlegur.

to be

Breakdown of Glæpurinn var alvarlegur.

• alvarlegur: serious
• glæpurinn: the crime

Questions & Answers about Glæpurinn var alvarlegur.

Why does glæpurinn end in -inn?

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

• glæpur = crime
• glæpurinn = the crime

So -inn here is the masculine singular nominative definite article.

What gender is glæpur, and why does that matter here?

Glæpur is a masculine noun. That matters because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Since glæpurinn is masculine, singular, and nominative here, the adjective also has the matching form: alvarlegur.

Why is the adjective alvarlegur ending in -ur?

The -ur ending shows that the adjective is in the masculine singular nominative form.

In this sentence:

• glæpurinn = masculine singular nominative
• alvarlegur = masculine singular nominative

This is standard Icelandic agreement. English adjectives do not change form this way, but Icelandic adjectives do.