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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Kvöldið er fallegt. - The evening is beautiful.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Lesson 22
/Kvöldið er fallegt.

Kvöldið er fallegt.

Kvöldið er fallegt.

The evening is beautiful.

Breakdown of Kvöldið er fallegt.

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Questions & Answers about Kvöldið er fallegt.

Why does Kvöld have the ending -ið here?

The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun.

kvöld = evening (indefinite: “an evening / evening”)
kvöldið = the evening (definite)

In Icelandic, the word for “the” is usually not a separate word, but is added as an ending:

bíll = a car → bíllinn = the car
hús = a house → húsið = the house
kvöld = evening → kvöldið = the evening

So Kvöldið er fallegt literally means “The evening is beautiful.”

What gender is kvöld, and why is that important here?

Kvöld is a neuter noun in Icelandic.

That matters because:

The definite ending -ið is the neuter singular nominative/accusative definite ending.
The adjective fallegt has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Since kvöldið is neuter singular nominative, the adjective also takes the neuter singular nominative form: fallegt.

So:

masculine: fallegur
feminine: falleg
neuter: fallegt

Because kvöldið is neuter, you must say fallegt, not fallegur or falleg.

Why is the adjective fallegt and not something like fallegur?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the nouns they describe.

The base form is often shown as fallegur (masculine), but it declines:

masculine nominative singular: fallegur
feminine nominative singular: falleg
neuter nominative singular: fallegt

Since kvöldið is a neuter noun in the nominative singular, the adjective must also be neuter nominative singular: fallegt.

So you get:

dagurinn er fallegur – the day is beautiful (masc.)
kvöldið er fallegt – the evening is beautiful (neut.)
borgin er falleg – the city is beautiful (fem.)

What is the base (dictionary) form of kvöldið?

The base form you will find in a dictionary is kvöld.

Dictionary entries use:

nominative singular, indefinite form
without any definite ending

So:

dictionary: kvöld (neuter noun)
in this sentence: kvöldið (the evening, definite nominative singular)

How is Kvöldið er fallegt pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation in IPA:

kvöldið → [ˈkʰvœl̥tɪð]
er → [ɛr]
fallegt → [ˈfaːlɛxt]

Some notes:

k in kv- is aspirated: like a strong k
- v: [kʰv].
ö is like the vowel in British English “bird” or French œ in sœur.
The ð in kvöldið is a soft th sound [ð], but in kvöld it’s in a consonant cluster and is barely audible.
In fallegt, the -ggt spelling is pronounced more like -xt [xt].

Why is there a verb er? In English we also say “The evening is beautiful,” but can Icelandic drop the “is”?

No. In Icelandic you cannot normally drop the verb vera (to be) the way some other languages sometimes drop “to be.”

You must use er in the present tense for 3rd person singular:

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

Since kvöldið is a singular “it,” you must say:

Kvöldið er fallegt. – The evening is beautiful.

Could the word order be Fallegt er kvöldið instead? Would that still be correct?

Yes, Fallegt er kvöldið is grammatically correct, but the word order changes the emphasis.

Kvöldið er fallegt.
Neutral, most common: simply stating that the evening is beautiful.
Fallegt er kvöldið.
More poetic or emphatic: something like “Beautiful is the evening,” highlighting fallegt.

So both are possible, but in everyday speech and writing, Kvöldið er fallegt is the normal form.

How would I say “Evenings are beautiful” (in general), instead of “The evening is beautiful”?

You need the plural:

kvöld – evenings (indefinite plural; same form as singular in this noun)
verb in plural: eru (are)
neuter plural adjective form: falleg

So:

Kvöld eru falleg. – Evenings are beautiful. (general statement)
Kvöldin eru falleg. – The evenings are beautiful. (specific evenings; definite plural kvöldin)

Why don’t we use a separate word for “the” in this sentence, like “hinn” or something similar?

In normal modern Icelandic, the definite article is almost always attached to the noun as an ending, like -ið in kvöldið.

There is a separate article hinn / hin / hið, but it is:

relatively formal or literary
used in specific patterns (e.g. maðurinn hinn gamli – the man, the old one)

In simple sentences like this, you always use the suffixed article:

kvöld → kvöldið
bók → bókin
hestur → hesturinn

So Kvöldið er fallegt is the natural, everyday way to say it.

Can I add “very” to say “The evening is very beautiful” in Icelandic?

Yes. A common word for “very” is mjög.

You just place it before the adjective:

Kvöldið er mjög fallegt. – The evening is very beautiful.

Word order stays:

subject (Kvöldið)
verb (er)
adverb (mjög)
adjective (fallegt).

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