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Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er blár.
Why does the noun bíllinn end with -inn instead of having a separate word for the?
In Icelandic the definite article is suffixed directly to the noun. The bare noun bíll means “car,” and to make it “the car” (masculine, singular, nominative) you add -inn, giving bíllinn.
What case is bíllinn in, and why is the noun in this case?
It’s in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence. Icelandic uses the nominative for subjects and for predicate nouns/adjectives after the verb vera (“to be”).
How does the adjective blár agree with bíllinn, and why is it not blá or blátt?
Adjectives in Icelandic match the noun’s gender, number and case. Bíllinn is masculine, singular, nominative. The masculine, singular, nominative form of “blue” is blár. Blá would be feminine; blátt would be neuter.
Why is blár used here without any extra ending given that bíllinn is definite?
Because blár is in predicate position (it follows the copula er). Predicate adjectives take the strong (indefinite) ending. If the adjective were attributive (directly before a definite noun), you’d use the weak form: (“the blue car”).