Peysan er mjúk.

The sweater is soft.

Breakdown of Peysan er mjúk.

• vera: to be
• 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?

The dictionary form of the adjective is mjúkur (“soft”). But adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender (masculine / feminine / neuter)
• number (singular / plural)
• case (nominative / accusative / dative / genitive)

Peysa is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So mjúkur must take the form that matches feminine nominative singular, which is mjúk.

Very basic nominative forms of mjúkur:

• masculine: mjúkur
• feminine: mjúk
• neuter: mjúkt

Because peysan is feminine, we need mjúk.

Is mjúk here a “strong” or “weak” adjective form?

In Peysan er mjúk., mjúk is a strong adjective form.

A simple rule of thumb:

• Attributive + definite (with a clear “the”): tends to be weak
  
  • hin mjúka peysan / sú mjúka peysa (“the soft sweater”)
• Predicative after “to be”: typically strong
  
  • Peysan er mjúk. (“The sweater is soft.”)

So even though the noun is definite (peysan = the sweater), the adjective following er is in the strong form: mjúk.

What is the verb er exactly? Is it the same as English “is”?

Yes. er is the present tense form of the verb vera (“to be”), used with ég/hann/hún/það etc. It corresponds to English “am / is / are”, depending on the subject.

Present tense of vera:

• 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

In Peysan er mjúk., er = “is”.

What word order does Icelandic use here? Could I say “Mjúk er peysan”?

The normal, neutral word order is:

• Subject – Verb – Complement
  Peysan er mjúk.
  The sweater – is – soft.

You can say “Mjúk er peysan”, but:

• it sounds emphatic or poetic, not neutral
• it roughly puts focus on the quality: “Soft is the sweater.”

For everyday speech and writing, stick with Peysan er mjúk.

Why isn’t there an explicit word for “it”, like “It is soft”?

English often uses a dummy pronoun “it”, but Icelandic doesn’t need that when the subject is already there.

• Peysan er mjúk.
  Literally: “The sweater is soft.”
  English might also say: “It is soft.”

If you’ve already mentioned the sweater and now refer to it with a pronoun, you’d use hún (she) because peysa is feminine:

• Hún er mjúk. – “It is soft.” (referring to the sweater)

Can I say “mjúk peysa” instead? What’s the difference from “Peysan er mjúk”?

Yes, but the structure is different.

• mjúk peysa = “a soft sweater” (adjective comes before the noun, attributive use)
• Peysan er mjúk. = “The sweater is soft.” (adjective is a predicate after the verb er)

So:

• mjúk peysa – you’re naming/describing a type of sweater
• Peysan er mjúk. – you’re saying something about a specific sweater (the sweater).

How would I say this in the plural: “The sweaters are soft”?

You need to put both the noun and the adjective in feminine nominative plural:

• peysa → peysur (sweaters)
• definite plural: peysurnar = “the sweaters”
• mjúk (fem. sg.) → mjúkar (fem. pl.)

So:

• Peysurnar eru mjúkar.
  = “The sweaters are soft.”

How do I negate the sentence: “The sweater is not soft”?

Use ekki (“not”) after the verb:

• Peysan er ekki mjúk.
  = “The sweater is not soft.”

Word order:

• Peysan – subject
• er – verb
• ekki – negation
• mjúk – adjective

How would I say it in the past: “The sweater was soft”?

Use the past tense of vera (“to be”), which is var for the 3rd person singular:

• Peysan var mjúk.
  = “The sweater was soft.”

Only the verb changes er → var; the noun and adjective stay the same here.

How do you pronounce Peysan er mjúk?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA and English-like hints):

• peysan → [ˈpʰeiːsan]

  • p is strongly aspirated (like the p in pin).
  • ey sounds like English “ay” in day.
  • Stress on the first syllable: PEY-san.

• er → [ɛr]

  • Similar to English “air” but shorter.

• mjúk → [mjuːk]

  • mj combines to something like “my” but with a small y-glide.
  • jú sounds like “you”, with a long vowel: myook (one syllable).

So the sentence is roughly:

• [ˈpʰeiːsan ɛr mjuːk]
  “PEY-san ehr myook.”

How can I tell that peysa is feminine, and why does that matter?

You usually learn the gender from the dictionary, which will mark peysa f. (for feminine).

Why it matters:

• It decides which adjective forms you use:
  
  • fem. sg. nom.: mjúk peysa
  • masc. sg. nom.: mjúkur jakki (a soft jacket)
  • neut. sg. nom.: mjúkt teppi (a soft blanket)

In Peysan er mjúk., the adjective must match the noun’s gender (feminine), so you say mjúk, not mjúkur or mjúkt.