Lampinn er hvítur.

to be

Breakdown of Lampinn er hvítur.

• hvítur: white
• lampinn: the lamp

Questions & Answers about Lampinn er hvítur.

Why does Lampinn end with -inn instead of using a separate word for “the”?

In Icelandic the definite article is not a standalone word like the in English but a suffix attached to the noun.

• -inn marks a masculine noun as definite in the nominative singular.
  So Lampinn = “the lamp.”

How do I say “a lamp” in Icelandic?

Use the indefinite form without the definite suffix:

• lampi = “a lamp” (masculine nominative singular, indefinite)

If you wanted plural “lamps” (indefinite), it would be:

• lampar = “lamps”

Why is the adjective hvítur ending in -ur rather than just hvít?

Because it’s the strong masculine nominative singular form, used after a copular verb (like er). In predicates, adjectives agree with the noun’s:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative

Hence hvítur = “(it) is white” describing a masculine singular noun.

When would I use hvít, hvítur, or hvítt?