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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: blái bíllinn (“the blue car”).
How do you form the indefinite version “A car is blue”?
Drop the definite suffix: Bíll er blár. Here bíll is indefinite (“a car”), er is “is,” and blár remains in the strong form (masculine, singular, nominative).
How would you ask “Is the car blue?” in Icelandic?
You invert the subject and verb for a yes/no question: Er bíllinn blár?
What is er in terms of verb conjugation?
Er is the third person singular present of the verb vera (“to be”). The present tense is:
Ég er (I am)
Þú ert (you are)
Hann/Hún/Það er (he/she/it is)
Við erum (we are)
Þið eruð (you pl. are)
Þeir/Þær/Þau eru (they are)
How would you say “My car is blue”?
Add the possessive pronoun minn in the weak form to the definite noun:
Bíllinn minn er blár.