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Questions & Answers about Skólinn er stór.
Why is the word spelled skólinn rather than skóli?
In Icelandic, adding -inn to a noun makes it definite, similar to “the” in English. The masculine singular noun in its indefinite form is skóli, meaning “(a) school.” When you add the definite ending, it becomes skólinn, meaning “the school.”
Why is the verb er used here, and not another form like eru or ert?
This is the third-person singular present tense of the verb vera (“to be”). In Icelandic, er matches singular subjects like skólinn, just like English “is” matches “the school.”
Why is stór used here, and not stóra or stóri?
The adjective stór is in the nominative masculine singular form, which matches the noun skólinn. In a simple descriptive statement using er, we use the predicate form of the adjective, which is the nominative form. Therefore it’s stór, not stóra or stóri.
Can I say Stóri skólinn er to mean “The big school is...” in Icelandic?
Yes, but that changes the word order and implies an attributive adjective, similar to “The big school is...”. In that case, you would decline stór as stóri (masculine nominative singular, definite article context) because it directly modifies skólinn. You’d get Stóri skólinn er....
Is it ever acceptable to omit the word er in Icelandic?
No, in standard Icelandic the verb vera (“to be”) is required when making a statement about something’s state or quality. Unlike in some other languages, you can’t drop the linking verb.