Póstkortið er fallegt.

to be

Breakdown of Póstkortið er fallegt.

• póstkortið: the postcard
• fallegt: beautiful

Questions & Answers about Póstkortið er fallegt.

What does póstkortið mean exactly, and what is its base form?

Póstkortið means the postcard.

Its base (dictionary) form is póstkort, which means postcard without the definite article.

• póstkort = postcard
• póstkortið = the postcard

The ending -ið is the definite article for a neuter singular noun in the nominative case.

Why does the noun have the ending -ið instead of a separate word for the?

Icelandic usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun as a suffix, instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• póstkort = postcard
• póstkortið = the postcard

This is very regular in Icelandic:

• hestur → hesturinn (the horse)
• bók → bókin (the book)
• hús → húsið (the house)

Here póstkort is a neuter noun, and its nominative singular definite ending is -ið.

What gender is póstkortið, and how can I tell?

Póstkortið is neuter.

You can see this from:

1. The base form póstkort ends in -t, which is common but not guaranteed for neuter nouns.
2. The definite nominative singular ending -ið is typical for neuter nouns.
3. The adjective fallegt also has a neuter ending -t, agreeing in gender, number, and case with the noun.

So: neuter singular nominative noun (póstkortið) plus neuter singular nominative adjective (fallegt).

Why is the adjective fallegt and not fallegur or falleg?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

The basic forms of this adjective in the nominative singular are:

• Masculine: fallegur
• Feminine: falleg
• Neuter: fallegt

Since póstkortið is neuter singular nominative, the adjective must also be neuter singular nominative:

• Póstkortið er fallegt.
  The postcard is beautiful.

If the subject were masculine or feminine, you would say:

• Bíllinn er fallegur. (The car is beautiful. masculine)
• Bókin er falleg. (The book is beautiful. feminine)

Why is the adjective not also definite, something like fallega or fallegað?

In a sentence with the verb vera (to be), when you simply describe the subject, Icelandic normally uses the indefinite form of the adjective, even if the noun is definite.

So:

• Póstkortið er fallegt.
  Literally: The postcard is beautiful.

The noun póstkortið is definite, but the adjective fallegt remains in its basic (indefinite) form, just agreeing in gender, number, and case.

The definite adjective forms appear mainly when the adjective is placed before a definite noun, often together with a determiner, for example:

• þetta fallega póstkort (this beautiful postcard)
• hið fallega póstkort (the beautiful postcard, very formal or written style)

What is the verb er, and how is it conjugated?

Er is the third person singular present form of the verb vera (to be).

Present tense of vera:

• ég er – I am
• þú ert – you are (singular)
• hann er – he is
• hún er – she is

• það er – it is

• við erum – we are
• þið eruð – you are (plural)
• þeir eru – they are (masculine)
• þær eru – they are (feminine)
• þau eru – they are (neuter or mixed)

In Póstkortið er fallegt, the subject is third person singular (it), so the form is er.

What case is póstkortið in, and why?

Póstkortið is in the nominative case.

In sentences with vera (to be), the subject is in the nominative, and the adjective that describes it also appears in the nominative.

Structure:

• Subject (nominative): Póstkortið
• Verb: er
• Predicate adjective (nominative): fallegt

So everything that refers to the subject agrees in nominative here.

Can I change the word order, for example say Fallegt er póstkortið?

Yes, but it changes the emphasis.

• Póstkortið er fallegt.
  Neutral word order, normal statement: The postcard is beautiful.

• Fallegt er póstkortið.
  This is possible, but it sounds more poetic or emphatic, like saying in English:
  Beautiful is the postcard.

In everyday speech you will almost always hear the neutral order:

Póstkortið er fallegt.

How do you pronounce Póstkortið er fallegt?

Approximate pronunciation using English-like hints:

• Póstkortið ≈ POUST-kor-tith

  • póst: like English post but with clearer vowels
  • k: strongly aspirated, like k in camp
  • Final -ið: short i plus soft voiced th (as in this)

• er ≈ air (very short)

• fallegt ≈ FAH-lyekt

  • a: like a in father, but shorter
  • ll: in this position pronounced a bit like tl or dl, often sounds like ly to English ears
  • egt: roughly ekt, with a hard k and t at the end

More precisely in IPA:

• Póstkortið: /ˈpoustˌkʰɔr̥tɪð/
• er: /ɛr/
• fallegt: /ˈfaʰlːɛxt/

How would I say The postcards are beautiful?

You need to put both the noun, the verb, and the adjective in the plural:

• Póstkortin eru falleg.
  The postcards are beautiful.

Changes compared to the singular:

• póstkortið → póstkortin (neuter plural definite)
• er → eru (third person plural of vera)
• fallegt → falleg (neuter plural nominative adjective form)

Can I use fallegt póstkort instead of Póstkortið er fallegt, and what is the difference?

Yes, but the meaning and structure are slightly different.

• Póstkortið er fallegt.
  Full sentence: The postcard is beautiful.

• fallegt póstkort
  Noun phrase: a beautiful postcard.

So:

• Use Póstkortið er fallegt as a complete sentence.
• Use fallegt póstkort inside a larger sentence, for example:
  
  • Ég keypti fallegt póstkort. (I bought a beautiful postcard.)

Does fallegt mean beautiful, pretty, or something else?

Fallegur / fallegt / falleg covers a range similar to English beautiful, pretty, lovely, nice-looking.

It is quite neutral and is commonly used for:

• people
• nature
• objects (like a postcard)

Context decides whether you would translate it as beautiful, pretty, or nice.

Where is the stress in this sentence?

In Icelandic, stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word.

So:

• PÓSTkortið
• ER
• FALlegt

Secondary stress can appear in longer words, but in this sentence each word is stressed on the first syllable.

Is there any special reason the subject comes first, unlike some Germanic languages that change order in statements?

In a simple main clause that is just a statement, Icelandic word order is typically Subject–Verb–Object or Subject–Verb–Complement, like English.

So:

• Subject: Póstkortið
• Verb: er
• Complement (adjective): fallegt

Verb–second (V2) effects show up when something else is placed first for emphasis or as a topic, for example:

• Í þessari búð er póstkortið fallegt.
  In this shop the postcard is beautiful.

Here Í þessari búð is in the initial position, so the finite verb er comes next, then the subject. But in the basic sentence Póstkortið er fallegt, the subject naturally comes first.