Valið er erfitt.

The choice is difficult.

Breakdown of Valið er erfitt.

• vera: to be
• erfiður: difficult
• valið: the choice

Questions & Answers about Valið er erfitt.

What is valið grammatically in this sentence?

Here valið is a noun, not a verb.

• The base noun is val, a neuter noun.
• valið is the definite singular form: the choice / the selection.

So the sentence structure is:

• valið = the choice
• er = is
• erfitt = difficult

In other words, it is a very simple subject + verb + adjective sentence.

Why does valið end in -ið?

Because Icelandic usually adds the definite article as an ending, instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• val = a choice / choice
• valið = the choice

That -ið is the neuter singular definite ending here.

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice: Icelandic often says the-word as one word, not the + word.

Could valið also be a verb form?