Bíllinn er dökkur.

The car is dark.

Breakdown of Bíllinn er dökkur.

• vera: to be
• bíllinn: the car
• dökkur: dark

Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er dökkur.

What does the suffix -inn on bíllinn do?

-inn is the masculine singular definite article attached to the noun. So bíll (car) + -inn = bíllinn (the car).

Why isn’t there a separate word for the in Icelandic?

Icelandic does not use a separate definite-article word. Instead, it attaches the article as a suffix to the noun. The specific ending depends on the noun’s gender, number, and case.

What case is bíllinn in, and why?

Bíllinn is in the nominative singular masculine case. Subjects in Icelandic are always in the nominative.

What is er in bíllinn er dökkur?

Er is the 3rd-person singular present tense of vera (to be), corresponding to English is.

Why does the adjective dökkur end in -ur, and how does it match bíllinn?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with their nouns in:

• Gender (masculine)
• Number (singular)
• Case (nominative)
• Definiteness (the noun bíllinn is definite, so the adjective takes the weak declension)

For dökk- (“dark”), the weak nominative masculine singular form is dökkur.

How would you say a car is dark (indefinite) without the?

There is no indefinite article in Icelandic. To express “a car is dark,” you simply say:
Bíll er dökkur.

Does dökkur mean “black” or only “dark”?

Dökkur means “dark” in color (e.g., dark blue or dark gray). It does not mean “black.” For “black,” use svartur.

How do you pronounce Bíllinn er dökkur?

In IPA roughly: [ˈpiːtlɪn ˈɛr ˈtœhkʏr].
A simpler English guide: BEE-tlin air DUHK-kur, where ö sounds similar to the French peur or German schön.