Myndin var góð í gær.

to be

Breakdown of Myndin var góð í gær.

• í gær: yesterday
• góð: good
• myndin: the movie

Questions & Answers about Myndin var góð í gær.

Why does Myndin end with -in?

In Icelandic, the definite article is suffixed to the noun. Mynd means “movie” (or “picture”) and is a feminine noun. The nominative-singular definite suffix for feminine nouns is -in, so Mynd + -in = Myndin (“the movie”).

Why is the adjective góð placed after the verb instead of before the noun?

Because here góð is a predicative adjective linked by the verb vera (“to be”). Predicative adjectives come after the verb (e.g. Myndin var góð = “The movie was good”). Attributive adjectives that directly modify a noun come before it (e.g. góð mynd = “a good movie”).

Why is it góð and not góður or gott?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. Mynd is feminine, nominative, singular. The strong-declension forms of góður (“good”) are: masculine góður, feminine góð, neuter gott, and plural góðar. Hence góð for Mynd.

Why is the past tense of vera “var” and not something like was?

Vera is highly irregular. Its third-person‐singular past form is , not . For third-person‐plural past, it’s . There is no separate past stem as in English.