Morgunn er góður.

to be

Breakdown of Morgunn er góður.

• góður: good
• morgunn: the morning

Questions & Answers about Morgunn er góður.

Why is there no separate word for “the” or “a” in Morgunn er góður?

Icelandic handles articles differently from English.

• There is no separate word for “a/an” in Icelandic. So you simply say morgunn for “a morning” or “morning” in a general sense.
• The word for “the” is normally attached to the end of the noun as a suffix.

For example:

• morgunn = (a) morning / morning (indefinite, general)
• morguninn = the morning (definite, specific)

So:

• Morgunn er góður.
  → literally: Morning is good (or A morning is good / It is a good morning, depending on context)

If you specifically wanted “The morning is good.”, you would usually say:

• Morguninn er góður.

Why does it say morgunn with two n’s and not morgun?

The noun’s basic form in the dictionary is morgunn (with -nn), but it changes in different cases. In your sentence, morgunn is in the nominative singular (subject form), which happens to end in -nn.

Common forms:

• Nominative sg. (subject):
  morgunn – used when it’s the subject of the sentence
  e.g. Morgunn er góður. – The morning is good.

• Accusative / Dative sg. (object, after many prepositions):
  morgun – one n
  e.g. í morgun – this morning
  e.g. Ég elska morgun. – I love morning (a bit odd but grammatically fine)

• Definite nominative sg.:
  morguninn – the morning as subject
  e.g. Morguninn er kaldur. – The morning is cold.

So morgunn vs morgun is a case difference, not two different words.

What gender, number, and case is morgunn here, and why?

In Morgunn er góður, the word morgunn is:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative
• Definiteness: indefinite (no attached -inn)

Reason:

• It is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.
• Morgunn is a masculine noun in Icelandic by dictionary classification.
• The sentence is talking about one morning, so singular is used.
• No definite suffix is attached, so it’s indefinite: morgunn, not morguninn.

Why is the adjective góður in this form and not góð, góða, or gott?

Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

The base adjective is góður = good. In the nominative singular:

• masculine: góður
• feminine: góð
• neuter: gott

In Morgunn er góður:

• morgunn is masculine
• singular
• nominative (subject)

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative → góður.

If the noun were different, the adjective would change:

• Kaffi er gott. – Coffee is good.
  (coffee = neuter → gott)

• Mjólk er góð. – Milk is good.
  (milk = feminine → góð)

Why do we need the verb er? Can I just say Morgunn góður?

You cannot normally drop the verb er in Icelandic. You need it just like English needs “is”.

• er is the 3rd person singular present of að vera – to be.
• The structure of the sentence is:
  • Morgunn (subject)
  • er (verb “is”)
  • góður (predicative adjective)

So:

• Morgunn er góður. = Morning is good / The morning is good.

Saying Morgunn góður without er would sound incorrect in normal Icelandic, except perhaps in very telegraphic speech, headlines, or playful/poetic usage, which learners should generally avoid copying.

Can I use Morgunn er góður as a greeting meaning “Good morning!”?

Normally no. Morgunn er góður sounds more like a description:

• The morning is good.
• It’s a good morning.

As a greeting, Icelandic almost always uses “good day” rather than “good morning”:

Most common greetings:

• Góðan daginn! – Good day! (very common, polite)
• Góðan dag! – also Good day!

Less common / more literal “good morning” greetings:

• Góðan morgun! – Good morning!
  (understood, but much less frequent than Góðan daginn!)

So if you want to say “Good morning!” to someone, you should normally say:

• Góðan daginn!

How would I say “The morning is good” (a specific morning) or “This morning is good”?

To make the morning definite (the morning), attach the article:

• Morguninn er góður.
  = The morning is good. (specific morning)

To say “This morning is good”, use þessi (this):

• Þessi morgunn er góður.
  = This morning is good.

In everyday speech you might also hear ways of expressing the same idea more naturally:

• Það er góður morgunn. – It’s a good morning.
• Morguninn í dag er góður. – The morning today is good.

How do I say “Mornings are good” or “The mornings are good”?

You need the plural of morgunn and the plural of er:

• eru = are (3rd person plural of að vera)

Plural of morgunn (nominative):

• morgnar = mornings (indefinite)
• morgnarnir = the mornings (definite)

Adjective góður in masculine nominative plural is góðir.

So:

• Morgnar eru góðir.
  = Mornings are good.

• Morgnarnir eru góðir.
  = The mornings are good.

Can I change the word order and say Góður er morgunn? Does it mean something different?

You can say Góður er morgunn, but:

• Morgunn er góður is the normal, neutral word order.
• Góður er morgunn sounds marked, more poetic or emphatic, like:
  • Good, that’s what the morning is.
  • Good is the morning.

In everyday speech, you should stick to:

• Morgunn er góður.

Word order in Icelandic is generally Subject – Verb – [rest], like English, especially in simple statements.

How do you pronounce Morgunn er góður?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

• Morgunn → [ˈmɔr̥.kʏn] or [ˈmɔr.ɡʏn] (the r may devoice g)
• er → [ɛr]
• góður → [ˈkouːðʏr̥] (or similar; exact realization varies slightly)

Some tips for an English speaker:

• Stress: Always on the first syllable: MOR-gunn, GÓ-ður.
• o in morgunn: like British English “lot”, slightly rounded.
• r: rolled or tapped r, not the English approximant.
• -unn in morgunn: short u (like “put”), then nn; the double n slightly lengthens or strengthens the n.
• ó in góður: a long vowel, roughly like English “go”, but purer, without a strong off-glide.
• ð in góður: this is the voiced “th” sound, as in “this”.
• Final r in góður can be partly devoiced; don’t worry too much about that as a beginner—just aim for a clear r.

Does Morgunn er góður mean “Morning is good,” “The morning is good,” or “It is a good morning”? Which is correct?

All of those English sentences are possible translations, depending on context.

Icelandic doesn’t always map 1‑to‑1 to English articles and dummy subjects:

• Literally, Morgunn er góður is “Morning is good” (no article, generic or indefinite).
• In context, it can easily be understood as:
  • “The morning is good.” (if both speakers know which morning is meant)
  • “It is a good morning.” (natural English way to say it)

So when translating to natural English, you often choose:

• “It’s a good morning.”
• or “The morning is good.”

The Icelandic sentence itself doesn’t force one specific English choice; English grammar and style decide which translation sounds best.