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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Urðunin er dýr. - Landfilling is expensive.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Sorting household waste at a recycling site
/Urðunin er dýr.

Urðunin er dýr.

Word

Urðunin er dýr.

Meaning

Landfilling is expensive.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Icelandic

Lesson

Sorting household waste at a recycling site

Breakdown of Urðunin er dýr.

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Questions & Answers about Urðunin er dýr.

Why is there no separate word for the in Urðunin?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of standing as a separate word.

urðun = landfill / disposal / burial (indefinite)
urðunin = the landfill / the disposal / the burial (definite)

So -in here is the attached definite article.

What is the basic dictionary form of Urðunin?

The basic form is urðun.

In the sentence, it appears as urðunin, which is the definite singular form. So if you were looking it up in a dictionary, you would usually search for urðun, not urðunin.

What grammatical gender is urðun, and why does that matter?

Urðun is a feminine noun.

That matters because adjectives in Icelandic often agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. In this sentence, dýr is describing urðunin, so its form matches a feminine singular nominative subject.

Why is the adjective dýr not changing here?

It actually is in the correct agreeing form already.

After the verb er (is), Icelandic predicate adjectives still agree with the subject. Since urðunin is feminine singular, the correct form here is dýr.

Compare:

Urðunin er dýr. = feminine singular
Húsið er dýrt. = neuter singular
Bílarnir eru dýrir. = masculine plural

So dýr is not the default form for every situation; it is the right form for this noun.

What form is er?

Er is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb að vera (to be).

So:

ég er = I am
þú ert = you are
hann / hún / það er = he / she / it is

In Urðunin er dýr, the subject is singular, so er is the correct form.

Why is the word order Urðunin er dýr and not adjective first?

This is the normal Icelandic pattern for a simple statement:

subject + verb + complement

So:

Urðunin = subject
er = verb
dýr = complement adjective

This works very much like English The landfill is expensive.

You can move words around in Icelandic for emphasis, but this sentence is the neutral, standard order.

How do I know dýr means an adjective here and not something else?

You know from the sentence structure.

In Urðunin er dýr, the word after er is describing the subject, so dýr is functioning as an adjective meaning expensive.

That is important because dýr can also appear in other roles in Icelandic, but here the grammar clearly shows it is an adjective.

How do you pronounce urðunin?

A rough pronunciation guide is:

UR-thu-nin

A few helpful points:

u is pronounced somewhat like the Icelandic rounded u, not exactly like English oo
ð is like the th in this, not the th in thing
the stress is usually on the first syllable

So the first part, urð-, has that voiced th sound.

How do you pronounce dýr?

A rough guide is:

deer — but with an Icelandic vowel quality

More exactly:

ý is pronounced roughly like ee
r is pronounced with an Icelandic r, not necessarily like an English r

So for an English speaker, deer is a useful approximation, though not perfect.

Is dýr always the word for expensive?

It is a very common word for expensive, yes.

For example:

Þetta er dýrt. = This is expensive.
Bíllinn er dýr. = The car is expensive.

But be aware that Icelandic words can have more than one meaning depending on context, so you should always pay attention to how the word is being used in the sentence.

What case is Urðunin in?

It is in the nominative case.

That is because it is the subject of the sentence. In simple equational sentences like X is Y, the subject is normally nominative:

Urðunin = nominative subject
er dýr = predicate describing the subject

Would Icelandic ever use a separate word for the instead of attaching it to the noun?

Usually, Icelandic uses the attached definite article, as in urðunin.

A separate demonstrative-like word such as þessi can be used, but that means something more like this rather than a plain English the:

urðun = landfill / disposal
urðunin = the landfill / the disposal
þessi urðun = this landfill / this disposal

So in your sentence, the attached ending is the normal choice.

If I remove -in, can I say Urðun er dýr?

Grammatically, yes — that would make the noun indefinite instead of definite.

So the difference is:

Urðunin er dýr. = The landfill/disposal is expensive.
Urðun er dýr. = Landfill/disposal is expensive or A landfill/disposal is expensive, depending on context

Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English a/an, so the bare noun can often cover that meaning.

Does the adjective have to come after the noun here?

Yes, in this kind of sentence it normally does, because dýr is not directly attached to the noun inside a noun phrase. It is part of the predicate after er.

Compare:

urðunin er dýr = the landfill is expensive
dýr urðun = an expensive landfill / expensive disposal

So when the adjective is linked by er, it comes after the verb as part of the predicate.

Can I use this sentence pattern with other nouns and adjectives?

Yes — this is one of the most basic and useful Icelandic sentence patterns:

[noun with or without article] + er + [adjective]

For example:

Bíllinn er stór. = The car is big.
Bókin er góð. = The book is good.
Húsið er dýrt. = The house is expensive.

Just remember that the adjective may change form to agree with the noun.

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