Fiskurinn er gulur.

to be

Breakdown of Fiskurinn er gulur.

• fiskurinn: the fish
• gulur: yellow

Questions & Answers about Fiskurinn er gulur.

What does the -inn suffix in fiskurinn indicate?

In Icelandic there is no separate word for “the.” Instead, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun as a suffix. Since fiskur is a masculine noun in the nominative singular, we add -inn to form fiskurinn = “the fish.”

How do I form the definite article for other genders and numbers?

The suffix changes according to gender, number and case, but here are the nominative forms in the singular and plural:
• Masculine singular: -inn (fiskur → fiskurinn)
• Feminine singular: -in (móðir → móðirin)
• Neuter singular: -ið (hús → húsið)
• Masculine plural: -arnir (fiskar → fiskarnir)
• Feminine plural: -urnar (stúlkur → stúlknar)
• Neuter plural: -in (hús → húsin)

Why is the adjective gulur not guli or gult?

Adjectives agree in gender, number, and case. The adjective gulur has three strong (predicate) forms in the nominative singular:
• gulur = masculine
• gul = feminine
• gult = neuter
Since fiskurinn is masculine nominative singular and gulur is used (after ), we choose the masculine form .