Þakið á húsinu er rautt.

to be

Breakdown of Þakið á húsinu er rautt.

• húsið: the house
• á: on
• þakið: the roof
• rauður: red

Questions & Answers about Þakið á húsinu er rautt.

What is Þ in Þakið, and how do I pronounce Þakið?

Þ (thorn) is a letter in Icelandic that represents the voiceless “th” sound, as in English thin.
Þakið is pronounced roughly THAH-kith (IPA: /ˈθaːkɪð/).

Why does Þakið end with -ið?

Icelandic marks the definite article as a suffix.
• Þak = “a roof” (indefinite).
• Þakið = “the roof” (definite).
Here -ið signals neuter singular definite in the nominative case (because it’s the subject).

Why is it á húsinu instead of just húsið?

The preposition á (“on”) takes the dative case when indicating a static location.
• hús (house) is neuter.
• Dative singular is húsi.
• Adding the definite suffix -nu gives húsinu (“the house” in dative).
So á húsinu = “on the house.”

Why is the adjective rautt and not rauður, rauð, or something else?

Adjectives in predicative position (after er “is”) use the indefinite strong forms and agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case.
• Þakið is neuter singular nominative.
• The strong neuter nominative ending is -t, giving rautt (“red”).

Why is the sentence Þakið á húsinu er rautt and not Á húsinu er þakið rautt or Er þakið á húsinu rautt?

Icelandic follows the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb (er) must be the second constituent.
• You can front a noun phrase or prepositional phrase (here Þakið á húsinu), but er stays in second position.

How would I say “the red roof” as one noun phrase instead of “the roof is red”?

For an attributive adjective (before the noun), use the weak definite form:
• Neuter singular definite of rauður is rauta.
• Noun þak takes the suffix -ið.
Result: rauta þakið = “the red roof.”