Bíllinn er rauður.

The car is red.

Breakdown of Bíllinn er rauður.

• vera: to be
• bíllinn: the car
• rauður: red

Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er rauður.

Why is bíllinn written as one word, and what does -inn do?

In Icelandic the definite article is not a separate word but a suffix attached to the noun. For masculine nouns like bíll (“car”), the nominative singular definite suffix is -inn, so bíll + -inn = bíllinn (“the car”).

Why does rauður end in -ur instead of just rauð?

Adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Here bíllinn is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case (because it’s the subject of the sentence). The masculine nominative singular ending for this adjective is -ur, giving rauður (“red”).

Why doesn’t rauður change form to reflect that bíllinn is definite?

In predicative position (after the copula er), adjectives agree only in gender, number, and case—but not in definiteness. So even though bíllinn is “the car,” rauður remains in its indefinite masculine nominative singular form.

What is the basic word order of Bíllinn er rauður?

Icelandic typically follows Subject–Verb–Predicate (S–V–P) order. Here:
• Subject: Bíllinn (“the car”)
• Verb: er (“is”)
• Predicate adjective: rauður (“red”)

How do you say “a car is red” without using a separate word for “a”?

There is no separate indefinite article (“a”/“an”) in Icelandic. For an indefinite meaning you simply use the noun in its base (indefinite) form:
Bíll er rauður (“A car is red”).

How would you say “The cars are red” in Icelandic?

You change to plural definite forms:
• bíll → bílarnir (–ar for masculine plural, –nir for the definite suffix)
• er → eru (plural of the copula)
• rauður → rauðir (masculine nominative plural)
So you get: Bílarnir eru rauðir.

How do I make an attributive phrase like “a red car”?

When an adjective directly modifies a noun, it precedes the noun and is declined according to gender, number, and case (indefinite):
rauður bíll (masculine, singular, nominative indefinite) = “a red car.”

Is it possible to drop er and say Bíllinn rauður like an English verbless sentence?

In standard Icelandic you need the copula er when using a predicative adjective: Bíllinn er rauður. Omitting er (e.g. Bíllinn rauður) might appear in poetry, headlines, or very colloquial speech but is not the normal way to form a sentence.