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Questions & Answers about Kvöldið er stutt.
What does kvöldið mean and how is it formed grammatically?
kvöldið is the definite singular form of kvöld, meaning the evening. Icelandic adds -ið as the neuter singular definite article suffix directly onto the noun.
Why is the adjective stutt placed after the verb er instead of before kvöldið?
Because stutt is functioning as a predicative adjective that describes the subject via the copula er. Predicative adjectives in Icelandic follow the verb and remain in their base form. To use stutt attributively (directly modifying a noun), you would say stutt kvöld, with the adjective before the noun.
Why doesn’t stutt take any endings to agree with kvöldið in gender or number?
In Icelandic, adjectives used predicatively after a form of vera (meaning to be) are not inflected. They stay in the uninflected citation form regardless of the noun’s gender, number, or case.
What case and grammatical function does kvöldið have in the sentence Kvöldið er stutt?
kvöldið is the subject of the sentence and therefore takes the nominative case. With the copular verb er, the subject always remains in nominative.
How do I pronounce the initial consonant cluster kv in kvöldið?
Pronounce kv as an aspirated k followed immediately by v, roughly [kʰv]. So kvöldið sounds like kvoelth-ith, with ö similar to the vowel in English hurt (but without the r).
If I wanted to say a short evening rather than the evening is short, how would I express that in Icelandic?
Use the indefinite noun with an attributive adjective: stutt kvöld. Here stutt agrees in gender, number, and case, and kvöld is left indefinite to mean an evening.