Peysan er mjúk.

to be

Breakdown of Peysan er mjúk.

• mjúkur: soft
• peysan: the sweater

Questions & Answers about Peysan er mjúk.

Why does peysan end in -an? What’s the base form of this word?

The base (dictionary) form is peysa (a sweater, cardigan, hoodie, etc.).

Icelandic doesn’t use a separate word for “the” like English. Instead, it usually attaches a definite article ending to the noun:

• peysa = a sweater
• peysan = the sweater

For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the definite singular nominative is formed by changing -a → -an:

• stúlka → stúlkan (girl → the girl)
• bók → bókin (book → the book; different pattern)
• peysa → peysan (sweater → the sweater)

So peysan is simply “the sweater” in the nominative singular.

What grammatical role does peysan have in the sentence?

In Peysan er mjúk., peysan is:

• the subject of the sentence
• in the nominative case (the default subject case)

The structure is:

• Peysan (subject, nominative)
• er (verb “is”)
• mjúk (predicate adjective, describing the subject)

Why is the adjective mjúk and not mjúkur?