Skólinn er rólegur.

Breakdown of Skólinn er rólegur.

vera
to be
skólinn
the school
rólegur
quiet
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Questions & Answers about Skólinn er rólegur.

Why is there no separate word for the in Skólinn?

Icelandic doesn’t use a standalone definite article. Instead, it adds a suffix to the noun.
skóli = “school” (indefinite)
skólinn = skóli + -inn (definite masc. nom. sg.) = “the school”

Why does rólegur end in -ur rather than -i or -t?

Adjectives in predicate position take the strong declension and must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject.
skólinn is masculine singular nominative, so the matching strong form is rólegur.
• A neuter noun would use rólegt, a feminine would use róleg.

Could I say Skólinn er rólegt or Skólinn er róleg?

No—those endings don’t match skólinn’s gender:
rólegt is neuter
róleg is feminine
Always choose the adjective form that agrees: rólegur for masc. sing.

How do I pronounce Skólinn er rólegur?

Approximate English pronunciation:
Skólinn = “SKOH-lin” (long “ó” like English “oh”)
er = “ehr” (short, like the “ir” in “sir”)
rólegur = “ROH-leh-gur” (stress on the first syllable)
IPA: /ˈskouː.lɪn ˈɛr ˈrou.lɛ.ɣʏr/

How do I make the sentence negative? Where does ekki go?

Put ekki right after the finite verb:
Skólinn er ekki rólegur. = “The school is not calm.”
If you add objects or adverbs, ekki still follows the conjugated verb.

How do I turn it into a question: “Is the school calm?”

Move the verb er to the front (Icelandic V2 rule):
Er skólinn rólegur? = “Is the school calm?”

What’s the difference between rólegur and hljóðlátur?

rólegur = “calm,” “peaceful,” describing atmosphere or mood
hljóðlátur = “quiet,” “making little noise,” more about sound level
Example:
Skólinn er rólegur → the school is calm (low stress, easygoing)
Skólinn er hljóðlátur → the school is quiet (not noisy)

How would I talk about schools (plural)?

Use the plural forms of both verb and adjective:
Skólar eru rólegir. = “(Some) schools are calm.”
Skólarnir eru rólegir. = “The schools are calm.”
Here eru is 3rd pl. of vera and rólegir is masc. pl. nominative strong.

If I want to say “the calm school” (adjective before the noun), how do I do that?

That’s an attributive adjective, which follows different (weak) inflections and placement:
rólegi skólinn = “the calm school” (weak form, masc. sg.)
Alternatively, a more formal style:
hinn rólegi skóli = “the calm school” (using the demonstrative hinn + strong form)