Veturinn er langur og kaldur.

The winter is long and cold.

Breakdown of Veturinn er langur og kaldur.

• vera: to be
• kaldur: cold
• og: and
• langur: long
• veturinn: the winter

Questions & Answers about Veturinn er langur og kaldur.

Why does Veturinn end with -inn?

Icelandic doesn’t use a separate word for the. Instead it attaches endings (definite articles) to nouns. For masculine nouns in the nominative singular you add -inn: • vetur = “winter” (indefinite)
• veturinn = “the winter” (definite)

Why do langur and kaldur not have a definite ending after veturinn?

They’re predicate adjectives (they come after the verb vera = “to be”). Predicate adjectives always take the strong form in the nominative singular and do not show the weak (definite) ending. If they were attributive (before a definite noun), you’d use the weak form, e.g. langi og kaldi veturinn (“the long and cold winter”).

How do adjectives in Icelandic agree with nouns?

Adjectives must match their noun in three categories:
• Gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
• Number (singular, plural)
• Case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive)
In Veturinn er langur og kaldur, veturinn is masculine, singular, nominative. Therefore the adjectives are also masculine, singular, nominative (strong form).

How would I ask “Is the winter long and cold?” in Icelandic?

Yes–no questions start with the finite verb. Swap er and veturinn:
Er veturinn langur og kaldur?

How is Veturinn er langur og kaldur pronounced?

Approximation for an English speaker (stress in ALL CAPS):
VEH-tu-rinn air LAHN-gur oh KAL-dur
In IPA: [ˈvɛːtʏrɪn̥ ɛr ˈlaŋkʏr ɔ ˈkʰal̥tʏr]
Remember that Icelandic stresses the first syllable of each word.

How do I express “neither … nor …” in this sentence?

Use hvorki … né:
Veturinn er hvorki langur né kaldur.
This means “The winter is neither long nor cold.”

How do I say “the long and cold winter” with the adjectives before the noun?

When adjectives come before a definite noun, they take the weak form:
langi og kaldi veturinn

Why do Icelandic speakers generally use veturinn er … instead of vetur er … when talking about winter in general?

Icelandic normally uses the definite form for seasons in general statements. So instead of vetur er langur og kaldur (“winter is long and cold”), you’ll almost always hear:
Veturinn er langur og kaldur