Þakið á húsinu er rautt.

to be

Breakdown of Þakið á húsinu er rautt.

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

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.• is .• The strong neuter nominative ending is , giving (“red”).