Vindurinn er sterkur.

to be

Breakdown of Vindurinn er sterkur.

• sterkur: strong
• vindurinn: the wind

Questions & Answers about Vindurinn er sterkur.

Why does vindurinn end with -inn, and what is the base form?

In Icelandic the definite article is a suffix, not a separate word. The base noun here is vindur (wind), a masculine noun. To say “the wind” you add -inn (masculine nominative singular definite) and get vindurinn.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “the”?

Unlike English, Icelandic attaches the definite article directly onto the noun as a suffix. The form of that suffix changes with gender, number and case. For example, hestur (a horse) becomes hesturinn (“the horse”) in the same way.

What does er mean in this sentence?

er is the third-person singular present of að vera (“to be”). In English it corresponds to “is.”

Why is the adjective sterkur not declined for definiteness like vindurinn?

Because sterkur is in predicate position (it follows the verb er). Predicate adjectives in Icelandic agree in gender, number and case with the noun but stay in the indefinite form—they never take a definite article suffix. Here they match the masculine singular nominative of vindurinn, giving sterkur.

Why is it sterkur and not or ?