Vatnið er kalt.

The water is cold.

Breakdown of Vatnið er kalt.

• vera: to be
• kalt: cold
• vatnið: the water

Questions & Answers about Vatnið er kalt.

What does the ending -ið on vatnið signify?

The suffix -ið is the definite article attached to neuter nouns in Icelandic. Instead of a separate word like the in English, Icelandic adds -inn, -ið or -in directly to the noun. Here vatn (water) becomes vatnið, meaning the water.

How would you say “water is cold” if you’re talking about water in general, not a specific body of water?

You simply drop the definite suffix. The indefinite form is: • Vatn er kalt. This means “Water is cold,” as a general statement.

Why is the adjective kalt used instead of kaldur?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree in gender, number and case with the noun they describe. Vatn is a neuter noun, so the neuter nominative singular form of kaldur is kalt. If you described a masculine noun (e.g. dagur, “day”), you’d say kaldur dagur (“cold day”).

What gender is vatn, and how do you know?

Vatn is a neuter noun. One clue is that its definite form takes -ið (neuter definite). Also, its adjective agreement (kalt) uses the neuter ending -t.

What case is vatnið er kalt in for the noun and the adjective?

Both vatnið and kalt are in the nominative case. In Icelandic, the subject of a sentence and any predicative adjective linked by vera (“to be”) appear in the nominative.

How do you pronounce the letter ð in vatnið, and what sound does it represent?

The letter ð (called eð) is a voiced dental fricative, like the “th” in English this. In vatnið it sounds roughly like vat-nith, with a soft th.

Why is the word order Vatnið er kalt (Subject–Verb–Adjective) and not Er vatnið kalt?

Vatnið er kalt is a neutral declarative sentence: Subject (Vatnið) comes first, then the verb (er), then the predicative adjective (kalt). Icelandic follows a Verb-second (V2) rule, so if you move the verb to the first position you turn it into a question:
• Er vatnið kalt? (“Is the water cold?”)

What’s the difference between an attributive adjective and a predicative adjective in Icelandic, using this example?

• Attributive adjectives appear before the noun and carry full agreement including definiteness:
– kalt vatn (“cold water,” indefinite)
– kalda vatnið (“the cold water,” definite)
• Predicative adjectives come after a linking verb (like er) and agree only in gender, number, and case, not definiteness:
– Vatnið er kalt. (“The water is cold.”)