Questions & Answers about Dagurinn er erfiður.
Indefinite singular:
- Nom: dagur
- Acc: dag
- Dat: degi
- Gen: dags
Definite singular:
- Nom: dagurinn
- Acc: daginn
- Dat: deginum
- Gen: dagsins
Examples:
- Subject (nominative): Dagurinn er erfiður.
- Object (accusative): Ég hata daginn. (“I hate the day.”)
Adjectives agree with the noun they describe. Dagur is masculine, so the nominative singular masculine form erfiður is used. Other nominative singular forms:
- Feminine: erfið (e.g., nóttin er erfið “the night is difficult”)
- Neuter: erfitt (e.g., kvöldið er erfitt “the evening is difficult”)
Predicate adjectives (after “to be”) normally take the strong form in Icelandic, even when the subject is definite. So: Dagurinn er erfiður (strong). The weak form is used attributively with a definite noun: erfiði dagurinn (“the difficult day”). Both patterns are normal:
- Predicative: Dagurinn er erfiður.
- Attributive + definite noun: erfiði dagurinn / (more formal) hinn erfiði dagur.
- Subject: Dagarnir (“the days”)
- Verb: eru (“are”)
- Adjective (m. nom. pl., strong): erfiðir
Sentence: Dagarnir eru erfiðir.
Invert the verb and subject:
- Er dagurinn erfiður? Answers:
- Já, dagurinn er erfiður.
- Nei, dagurinn er ekki erfiður.
- Negation: put ekki after the verb: Dagurinn er ekki erfiður.
- Intensifiers: mjög (very), afar/afskaplega (very/terribly), frekar (rather):
- Dagurinn er mjög erfiður.
- Dagurinn er ekki mjög erfiður.
- Indefinite day: Þetta er erfiður dagur.
- Using “today” idiomatically:
- Í dag er erfitt. (impersonal “it is difficult today,” neuter adjective)
- You can also say: Í dag er erfiður dagur. (“Today is a difficult day”)
Approximate IPA: [ˈtaːɣʏrɪn ɛr ˈɛrvɪðʏr]
Tips:
- Stress the first syllable of each content word: DA-gurinn, ER-fiður.
- In dagurinn, the g between vowels is a soft fricative [ɣ] (like the g in Spanish “amigo”).
- ð in erfiður is the voiced “th” in “this.”
- The cluster rf is pronounced like [rv], so erfiður sounds like “ERV-iður.”
- The two words “er erfiður” run smoothly together; the first “er” is its own word.
Er is present indicative of vera (“to be”). The present subjunctive is sé. You use sé in subordinate clauses after verbs of saying, thinking, wishing, etc.:
- Ég held að dagurinn sé erfiður. (“I think the day is difficult.”)
- krefjandi = demanding (natural: Dagurinn er krefjandi.)
- þungur = heavy/arduous (can work figuratively: Dagurinn er þungur.)
- leiðinlegur = boring/tedious (different nuance: Dagurinn er leiðinlegur.) Choose the one that best matches the nuance you want.
Use a dative experiencer:
- Dagurinn er mér erfiður. Neutral impersonal alternative:
- Mér er erfitt í dag. (“It is hard for me today.”)