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Æfing er góð.

Æfing er góð.
Exercise is good.

Breakdown of Æfing er góð.

vera
to be
góður
good
æfing
the exercise
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Questions & Answers about Æfing er góð.

What does æfing mean here? Is it exercise, practice, or something else?

Æfing can mean several related things, depending on context:

  • exercise (physical):
    • Æfing er góð. → Exercise is good.
  • practice / training (for a skill or sport):
    • Píanóæfing → piano practice
    • Fótboltaæfing → football training
  • drill / rehearsal:
    • Brunaæfing → fire drill

In a short sentence like Æfing er góð., it is usually understood as something like Exercise/Practice is good in a general sense. Context would decide which nuance is meant.

Why is there no word for a or the? Why isn’t it The exercise is good or An exercise is good?

Icelandic does not have a separate word for the indefinite article a/an, and the definite article the is usually attached to the noun as an ending.

  • No article (general statement):

    • Æfing er góð. → Exercise / Practice is good. (in general)

  • Definite article (attached):

    • Æfingin er góð. → The exercise is good.
      • æfing
        • -in (feminine definite ending) → æfingin

So the original sentence without any article is a general statement about exercise/practice, not about one specific exercise.

What gender is æfing, and why does that matter for góð?

Æfing is a feminine noun.

The adjective góður (good) changes its form to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

  • Masculine nominative singular: góður
  • Feminine nominative singular: góð
  • Neuter nominative singular: gott

Because æfing is feminine and is the subject in the nominative case, the adjective must also be feminine nominative, so we get:

  • Æfing er góð. → góð (feminine form)

If the noun were masculine, you would say, e.g.:

  • Matur er góður. → Food is good.

And if it were neuter:

  • Veður er gott. → The weather is good.
Could it be Æfing er góður or Æfing er gott?

No. That would be ungrammatical, because the adjective must match the gender of the noun:

  • æfing → feminine → góð
  • góður → masculine form → does not match
  • gott → neuter form → does not match

So for this noun, only Æfing er góð is correct.

What is er exactly? Is it like is in English?

Yes. Er is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb að vera (to be).

Basic forms of að vera in the present tense:

  • ég er – I am
  • þú ert – you are (singular)
  • hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
  • við erum – we are
  • þið eruð – you are (plural)
  • þeir / þær / þau eru – they are

So Æfing er góð. literally corresponds to Exercise is good.

What is the normal word order here? Could you say Góð er æfing instead?

The normal, neutral word order in Icelandic (as in English) is Subject – Verb – Complement:

  • Æfing (subject)
  • er (verb)
  • góð (subject complement / predicate adjective)

So Æfing er góð. is the standard way to say it.

You can say Góð er æfing in poetry or for emphasis, but it sounds marked or stylistic, not like an ordinary neutral statement.

How do you pronounce Æfing er góð?

Approximate pronunciation (not strict IPA, just learner-friendly):

  • Æfing ≈ eye-vingk
    • Æ like eye
    • f as in fun
    • ing closer to ingk (there’s a little k-like sound at the end)
  • er ≈ ehr (short e like in bed)
  • góð ≈ goth (but with the soft th sound, like in English this, not think)
    • ó like the o in go, but more pure
    • ð is a voiced th, like th in this

Main stress is always on the first syllable in Icelandic, so: Æfing er góð.

Can Æfing er góð also mean Training is good or Practice makes perfect?

Yes, æfing can easily be understood as training or practice (in the sense of repeatedly doing something to improve).

  • Æfing er góð. could be used in a context like:
    • talking about sports training → Training is good.
    • talking about rehearsing a skill → Practice is good.

It does not by itself mean Practice makes perfect, but it is the same idea expressed more simply. To say Practice makes perfect, Icelandic often uses:

  • Æfing skapar meistarann. → Practice creates the master.
How do I say The exercise is good and The exercises are good?

You add a definite ending for the, and change the verb + adjective for the plural:

  • Singular:

    • Æfingin er góð. → The exercise is good.
      • æfing
        • -in → æfingin (feminine definite)
      • verb: er (singular)
      • adjective: góð (feminine singular)

  • Plural:

    • Æfingar eru góðar. → The exercises are good. / Exercises are good.
      • æfingar = plural nominative of æfing
      • verb: eru (3rd person plural of að vera)
      • adjective: góðar (feminine nominative plural)

Note that in the plural, the ending of góðar shows feminine plural, agreeing with æfingar.

What are the main case forms of æfing?

Æfing is a regular feminine -ing noun. Its main singular and plural forms are:

  • Singular

    • Nominative: æfing (subject) – Æfing er góð.
    • Accusative: æfingu – Ég geri æfingu. (I do an exercise.)
    • Dative: æfingu – Ég fer á æfingu. (I go to practice.)
    • Genitive: æfingar – tími æfingar (time of practice)

  • Plural

    • Nominative: æfingar – Æfingar eru góðar.
    • Accusative: æfingar
    • Dative: æfingum
    • Genitive: æfinga

In Æfing er góð, the word is in the nominative singular because it is the subject.

Is góð only used after er, or can it come before the noun, like a good exercise?

Góð can appear both:

  1. Predicatively (after er, like in the sentence you gave):

    • Æfing er góð. → Exercise is good.

  2. Attributively (directly before a noun):

    • góð æfing → a good exercise / a good practice
    • Þetta var góð æfing. → That was a good exercise.

The form góð stays feminine nominative singular in both cases, because it is describing a feminine nominative singular noun (æfing) either way.