Questions & Answers about Smjörið er mjúkt í dag.
Icelandic uses a suffixed definite article. For neuter nouns, the nominative/accusative singular definite ending is -ið. So:
- smjör = butter
- smjörið = the butter (a specific, context-known butter, e.g., the butter in the fridge)
Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Smjör is neuter singular, so the adjective must be neuter singular nominative. The base adjective is:
- masculine: mjúkur
- feminine: mjúk
- neuter: mjúkt Here, we need the neuter form: mjúkt.
Not in this position. After the linking verb vera (to be), adjectives used predicatively take the strong endings, even if the noun is definite: Smjörið er mjúkt.
You get the weak form when the adjective is attributive before a definite noun: mjúka smjörið = the soft butter.
- Smjörið: nominative singular (subject)
- mjúkt: nominative singular (agrees with the subject)
- dag in í dag: accusative singular (time expression)
Both, depending on meaning:
- Location (in/at): dative. Example: í ísskápnum (in the fridge).
- Motion into or time spans/points: accusative. Examples: í ísskápinn (into the fridge), í dag (today).
So in í dag, dag is accusative.
Yes. Icelandic is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses. If you front an adverbial like í dag, the verb stays in second position:
Í dag er smjörið mjúkt.
Approximate it as “SMYUR-ith.” Details:
- smj ≈ “smy” (with a short y-glide)
- ö ≈ a rounded vowel like the vowel in British English “burn” (closer to [œ])
- r is tapped/trilled
- final ð is like the “th” in “this”
IPA (approx.): [ˈsmjœːrɪð], with stress on the first syllable and a long ö.
Roughly “MYOOKT.”
- mj ≈ “my”
- ú is long [uː] like “oo” in “goose”
- kt is pronounced as a voiceless cluster (often [xt]-like for many speakers)
It’s neuter and typically uncountable. Common singular forms:
- Indefinite: nominative/accusative smjör, dative smjöri, genitive smjörs
- Definite: nominative/accusative smjörið, dative smjörinu, genitive smjörsins
The idiomatic expression for “today” is í dag. Prepositions differ by set phrases:
- í dag (today)
- á mánudaginn (on Monday; accusative for a specific Monday) These are fixed usages you learn with each expression.
Yes:
- í dag = today (the whole day as a time frame)
- núna = now (this moment)
You can say Smjörið er mjúkt núna (the butter is soft now), which emphasizes the present moment rather than the day as a whole.