Questions & Answers about Buxurnar mínar eru líka svartar.
It’s the suffixed definite article for feminine plural (nominative/accusative).
- buxur = pants (indefinite)
- buxurnar = the pants (definite)
Adjectives used as a predicate after “to be” agree in gender, number, and case with the subject and take the strong declension.
- buxur is feminine plural nominative
- Strong feminine plural nominative of svartur is svartar
Hence: … eru … svartar
The possessive must agree with the noun. buxur is feminine plural nominative, so the matching form is mínar.
- Masculine plural would be mínir
- Neuter plural would be mín
Postposed possessives are the default and make the noun phrase definite with the suffixed article: buxurnar mínar = “my pants.”
You can put the possessive before the noun (mínar buxur), but that is typically more contrastive or indefinite in feel. For neutral “my X,” Icelandic usually prefers the postposed pattern with the definite suffix.
Definiteness affects attributive adjectives (when they directly modify a noun), not predicative adjectives (after “to be”).
- Attributive, definite: (hinar) svörtu buxurnar = “the black pants” (weak declension: svörtu)
- Predicative: Buxurnar … eru svartar (strong declension: svartar)
A common placement is after the finite verb: … eru líka svartar.
Other positions are possible for emphasis, e.g., sentence-initial (Líka eru …) or near the end (… eru svartar líka), but … eru líka … is the neutral, most typical choice.
Yes, buxur is plural-only (pluralia tantum). Basic case forms you’ll see often:
- Nom/Acc: buxur
- Dat: buxum
- Gen: buxna
“A pair of pants” is eitt par af buxum.
Use heldur with negation for “either”:
- Buxurnar mínar eru ekki svartar heldur.
You can also say: Buxurnar mínar eru heldur ekki svartar. Both are idiomatic.
As an attributive phrase with a definite noun, use the weak adjective:
- (Hinar) svörtu buxurnar mínar = “my black pants”
In everyday speech you’ll most often hear: svörtu buxurnar mínar (the article hinar is usually omitted in conversation).
Masculine plural nominative definite takes -nir, and agreement changes accordingly:
- Skórnir mínir eru líka svartir.
Here mínir (masc. pl.) and svartir (masc. pl. strong) agree with skórnir (masc. pl. nom. def.).
Approximate guide (stressed syllables first, Icelandic r is trilled):
- Buxurnar ≈ “PÜK-sür-nar”
- mínar ≈ “MEE-nar”
- eru ≈ “EH-ru”
- líka ≈ “LEE-ka”
- svartar ≈ “SVAR-tar”
Together: “PÜK-sür-nar MEE-nar EH-ru LEE-ka SVAR-tar.”
(Closer IPA: [ˈpʏksʏrnar ˈmiːnar ˈɛːrʏ ˈliːka ˈsvar̥tar])