Bíómyndin er góð.

The movie is good.

Breakdown of Bíómyndin er góð.

• vera: to be
• góður: good
• bíómyndin: the movie

Questions & Answers about Bíómyndin er góð.

Why is it bíómyndin and not just bíómynd if the English translation is “the movie”?

In Icelandic, the definite article (“the”) is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix, instead of being a separate word.

• bíómynd = a movie / a film (indefinite)
• bíómyndin = the movie / the film (definite)

So the -in ending here is the definite article for a feminine noun in the nominative singular.

What does bíómynd literally mean?

bíómynd is a compound word:

• bíó = cinema, movie theater
• mynd = picture, image, and by extension film, movie

So bíómynd is literally something like cinema-picture, i.e. a (cinema) movie.

What gender is bíómynd, and how can I tell?

bíómynd is feminine.

You can see that from:

1. The dictionary form will mark it as feminine (e.g. bíómynd (kvk.), where kvk. = kvenkyn, feminine).
2. The definite article suffix -in is a common nominative singular definite ending for feminine nouns (e.g. bók → bókin, kona → konan, bíómynd → bíómyndin).

Unfortunately, gender in Icelandic is mostly something you must memorize with each noun, but the definite ending often confirms what you’ve learned.

Why is the adjective góð and not góður or gott?

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

• bíómyndin is:
  • feminine
  • singular
  • nominative (it’s the subject)

So the adjective góður (good) must appear in its feminine singular nominative form:

• masculine: góður (e.g. bíllinn er góður – the car is good)
• feminine: góð (e.g. bíómyndin er góð – the movie is good)
• neuter: gott (e.g. veðrið er gott – the weather is good)

That’s why it is góð here.

What is er here? Is it like “is” in English?

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

A very small part of its conjugation:

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

So Bíómyndin er góð = The movie is good.

What’s the basic word order in Bíómyndin er góð?

The sentence uses normal Icelandic statement word order, which is similar to English:

• Subject – Verb – Complement
• Bíómyndin (subject) er (verb) góð (predicative adjective)

So the structure is basically the same as English: The movie is good.

How do you pronounce Bíómyndin er góð?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-like terms):

• Bíómyndin ≈ BEE-oh-mint-in

  • bí: long [iː], like bee
  • ó: [ou], like the o in go
  • mynd: the y is short [ɪ], similar to English mynt (but with Icelandic vowels)
  • final -in: roughly “in”

• er ≈ ehr (like saying English air but shorter)

• góð ≈ goth but:

  • ó again like the o in go
  • ð is a soft th sound like in this or that (voiced). The final ð is often quite soft and may be barely audible in casual speech.

So a rough overall guide: BEE-oh-mint-in ehr goeth (with a very light final th).

Why does bíómyndin have stress on the first syllable even though there are accent marks on í and ó?

In Icelandic, stress is almost always on the first syllable of the word, regardless of accent marks.

The accent marks (í, ó, á, é, ú, ý, ó, æ, ö) do not indicate stress. They indicate vowel quality and length, not which syllable is stressed.

So in bíómyndin:

• main stress is on bí- (first syllable)
• -ó- is pronounced as a specific vowel (like go), but it is not stressed more than the first syllable.

Is góð using a “strong” or “weak” adjective form here?

Here, góð is a strong form of the adjective.

In Icelandic:

• weak adjective forms are usually used when there is another determiner (like a possessive, demonstrative, or a separate definite article).
• strong adjective forms are typically used:
  • after the verb to be (að vera) when describing something (like here), or
  • when the noun is indefinite and there is no determiner.

In Bíómyndin er góð, we just have:

• definite noun (bíómyndin)
• copula verb (er)
• strong predicate adjective (góð)

So the adjective góð is in a strong form, agreeing in gender, number, and case with bíómyndin.

How would I say “A movie is good” instead of “The movie is good”?

You drop the definite ending and adjust góð accordingly:

• Bíómynd er góð. = A movie is good.

Grammatically:

• bíómynd: feminine, singular, nominative, indefinite
• góð: feminine, singular, nominative strong adjective

The structure stays the same; only the noun loses the definite suffix -in.

How would I make this plural: “The movies are good”?

You need the plural of the noun, the plural of the verb to be, and the plural of the adjective:

• Bíómyndirnar eru góðar. = The movies are good.

Breakdown:

• bíómyndir = movies (indefinite plural)
• bíómyndirnar = the movies (definite plural feminine; -nar is the definite plural ending here)
• eru = are (3rd person plural of að vera)
• góðar = good (feminine plural nominative form of góður)