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?