Maturinn er íslenskur.

to be

Breakdown of Maturinn er íslenskur.

• maturinn: the food
• íslenskur: Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Maturinn er íslenskur.

What does Maturinn mean and why is the article attached to the noun?

Matur means “food.” In Icelandic you form “the food” by adding the definite article as a suffix: -inn. So Maturinn = “the food.”

What role does er play in the sentence?

Er is the 3rd person singular present of vera (to be). It functions just like English is, linking the subject (Maturinn) to the predicate adjective (íslenskur).

Why is the adjective íslenskur in that form, even though Maturinn is definite?

Because íslenskur is a predicate adjective (it comes after the copula er). Predicate adjectives in Icelandic always use the strong declension. The strong masculine nominative singular form is íslenskur, regardless of the noun’s definiteness.

What’s the difference between saying íslenskur matur and íslenski maturinn?

• íslenskur matur = “Icelandic food” (indefinite noun; strong adjective)
• íslenski maturinn = “the Icelandic food” (definite noun; weak adjective)
When an adjective modifies a definite noun directly (attributively), it takes the weak form ().