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Questions & Answers about Liturinn er blár.
What does -inn at the end of Liturinn indicate?
It’s the definite article attached to the noun. litur means “color” and -inn makes it “the color.”
Why is the adjective blár not in the definite form and doesn’t get -inn?
Because it’s used predicatively (after vera, “to be”). Predicate adjectives agree in gender, number and case but never take the definite suffix.
Why does blár end with -r?
Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun. Here blár is masculine singular nominative (matching litur), so it takes -r.
What exactly is er?
er is the 3rd person singular present tense of vera (“to be”), i.e., he/she/it is.
What gender is litur, and how do I know that?
litur is a masculine noun. One clue is its ending in -ur, which many masculine nouns share, but gender must ultimately be memorized.
How would I ask in Icelandic “Is the color blue?”
You put the verb first: Er liturinn blár?
How do you say “The colors are blue”?
Litirnir eru bláir.
- litir = “colors” + definite -nir
- eru = “are” (present of vera)
- bláir = adjective in masculine plural nominative
How do I say “a blue color” versus “the blue color”?
- Indefinite: blár litur (“a blue color”)
- Definite: blái liturinn (“the blue color”)
Here the attributive adjective takes weak endings with a definite noun.
Why is the word order Liturinn er blár and not Er liturinn blár?
Icelandic main clauses are V2: the finite verb needs to be in second position. So for statements the subject comes first, then er. To make a question, however, you invert to Er liturinn blár?
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