Bíllinn er dýr.

to be

Breakdown of Bíllinn er dýr.

• bíllinn: the car
• dýr: expensive

Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er dýr.

What does the ending in the word Bíllinn mean?

It’s the suffixed definite article, meaning the. Icelandic typically puts the article after the noun:

• bíll = a car
• bíllinn = the car

Why is the adjective dýr used here (and not dýrt, dýrir, etc.)?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number. Bíllinn is masculine singular, so the predicate adjective is masculine singular nominative strong: dýr.

• Masculine sg: dýr
• Feminine sg: dýr
• Neuter sg: dýrt
• Plural: dýrir (m), dýrar (f), dýr (n)

What case is Bíllinn in?

Nominative singular. It’s the subject of the sentence and follows the copula er (to be), which takes a nominative subject. Predicate adjectives like dýr also appear in nominative.

How would the sentence look with a neuter or feminine subject?

• Neuter: Húsið er dýrt. (The house is expensive.)
• Feminine: Bókin er dýr. (The book is expensive.) The adjective changes to with neuter nouns, but stays with feminine in the nominative singular.