Garðurinn er stór og grænn.

to be

Breakdown of Garðurinn er stór og grænn.

• stór: big
• og: and
• garðurinn: the garden

Questions & Answers about Garðurinn er stór og grænn.

Why is there -inn at the end of garður?

In Icelandic the definite article is suffixed to the noun. garður means “garden” (indefinite) and garðurinn means “the garden” (masculine singular definite nominative). The ending -inn marks definiteness.

Why do stór and grænn end in -r (and have a double n)?

They are predicate adjectives (they follow the linking verb er) and therefore use the strong (indefinite) declension. In masculine nominative singular strong declension, stór takes -r and grænn has a double -n in its stem.

Why don’t the adjectives take a definite form since garðurinn is definite?

Only attributive adjectives (those placed before the noun) take weak (definite) endings. Predicate adjectives (after er) remain in the strong (indefinite) form, even when the noun they describe is definite.

How do you say “the big green garden” with the adjectives before the noun?

Use attributive adjectives with weak endings. For masculine nominative singular you get stóri græni garðurinn. Both stóri and græni end in -i because the noun is definite (marked by -inn).