Salatið er gott.

The salad is good.

Breakdown of Salatið er gott.

• vera: to be
• gott: good
• salatið: the salad

Questions & Answers about Salatið er gott.

What does the ending -ið in Salatið mean?

It’s the definite article “the.” In Icelandic, the article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

• Masculine: -inn (e.g., bíllinn = the car)
• Feminine: -in (e.g., bókin = the book)
• Neuter: -ið (e.g., salatið = the salad, húsið = the house)

Why is the adjective gott and not góður or góð?

Adjectives agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case. Salat is neuter, so the nominative singular neuter form is gott.

• Masculine: góður (e.g., Bíllinn er góður.)
• Feminine: góð (e.g., Bókin er góð.)
• Neuter: gott (e.g., Salatið/Húsið er gott.)

Why not góða here?

Góða is the weak form. After the verb vera (to be), adjectives are normally in the strong form, so you say er gott, not er góða.
Use the weak form before a definite noun: (hið) góða salat or in everyday modern usage góða salatið = “the good salad.”

What case is used in this sentence?

Nominative. Salatið is the subject (nominative), and the predicative adjective gott also appears in nominative to agree with it after er (“is”).

What does er mean, and how is vera conjugated?

Er = “is,” the 3rd person singular present of vera (“to be”). Present tense:

• ég er (I am)
• þú ert (you are, sg.)
• hann/hún/það er (he/she/it is)
• við erum (we are)
• þið eruð (you are, pl.)
• þeir/þær/þau eru (they are, m./f./n.)

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Gott er salatið or ask Er salatið gott?

Main clauses are verb-second (V2). The neutral order is Salatið er gott.
For emphasis/topicalization you can say Gott er salatið (still V2).
Yes–no question: Er salatið gott?

How do I pronounce the sentence?

Approximation: “SAH-lah-tith ehr koht.”
Notes:

• ð sounds like the voiced th in English this.
• Initial g in gott is unvoiced (sounds like English k).
• tt in gott is pre-aspirated (like a brief h before t).
• r is tapped or trilled.
• IPA (rough): [ˈsaː.la.tɪð ɛr kɔht]

Why is there an extra i in salatið (not just salatð)?

Many neuter nouns that end in a consonant insert a linking vowel i before the definite ending -ð:
salat → salatið, hús → húsið, skip → skipið, barn → barnið.

Do Icelandic nouns get capitalized like in German?

No. Only the first word of a sentence and proper names are capitalized. Salatið is capitalized here just because it starts the sentence.

How would I say “The salads are good”?

Salötin eru góð.

• eru = “are” (plural of er)
• Neuter plural strong adjective = góð
• The plural of salat is salöt, and the definite plural is salötin.

How would I say “Salad is good” (speaking generally)?

Salat er gott.
Dropping the article makes a general statement, much like English “Fish is good”: Fiskur er góður.

What’s the difference between attributive and predicative adjectives here?

• Predicative (after “to be”): strong form — Salatið er gott (“The salad is good”).
• Attributive before a noun:
  • Indefinite: strong — gott salat (“good salad” / “a good salad”).
  • Definite or with a determiner (this/that/my…): weak — góða salatið (“the good salad”), þetta góða salat (“this good salad”).
    A more formal variant uses a separate article: hið góða salat.

Can gott stand alone as an interjection?

Yes. Gott! can mean “Good!” / “Great!” as a reaction. You’ll also hear Það er gott (“That’s good” / “Good to hear”).

Why does the vowel change from ó in góður to o in gott?

Icelandic marks vowel length/quality in spelling: ó is long (roughly [ou]), while o is short ([ɔ]). Before tt, the vowel is short, so you get gott (short o) even though the base form is góður (long ó).

How do I say “This salad is good”?

Þetta salat er gott.
With a demonstrative like þetta (“this”), the noun is normally not suffixed with the article. If you add an adjective before the noun, it takes the weak form: Þetta góða salat er gott.