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Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.

Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.
The online course is very good.

Breakdown of Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.

vera
to be
góður
good
mjög
very
netnámskeið
the online course
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Questions & Answers about Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.

What does the ending -ið on Netnámskeiðið mean?

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

In Icelandic, “the” is usually not a separate word; instead, it is added to the end of the noun:

  • netnámskeið = an online course / online course
  • netnámskeiðið = the online course

Grammatically:

  • -ið here marks:
    • singular
    • nominative case
    • neuter gender
Why is “online course” written as one long word Netnámskeiðið?

Icelandic loves compound words: it often combines several words into one.

Netnámskeiðið is made up of:

  • net = internet, net
  • nám = study, learning
  • skeið = course, period
  • -ið = the definite article “the”

So literally: net + nám + skeið + ið → the internet-study-course → the online course.

Writing this as one word is completely normal in Icelandic.

How do you pronounce Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott?

Approximate pronunciation:

  • Netnámskeiðið ≈ NET-noums-kay-thith
  • er ≈ ehr (like “air” with a shorter vowel)
  • mjög ≈ myuhg (like my
    • very short uh
      • soft gh)
  • gott ≈ goht (with a short o, a bit like “got”, and a slight h-sound before the final t)

More precise (IPA-style) approximation:

  • Netnámskeiðið → /ˈnɛtˌnaumsˌsceiðɪð/
  • er → /ɛr/
  • mjög → /mjœːɣ/
  • gott → /kɔht/

Key sounds to notice:

  • ð (in -ið) is like the “th” in “this” (voiced).
  • tt in gott is pronounced roughly like ht.
  • mjög has a front rounded vowel œː, often approximated by English speakers as something between “myuh” and “muuuh” plus a soft gh at the end.
Why is the verb er used here?

Er is the present tense form of “to be” used with 3rd person singular subjects:

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

Since Netnámskeiðið (the online course) is singular, we use er:

  • Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.
    → The online course is very good.
Why is it gott and not góð or something else?

The adjective must agree with the noun in:

  • gender
  • number
  • case

The base adjective is góður (good). Its main nominative singular forms are:

  • góður – masculine
  • góð – feminine
  • gott – neuter

The noun netnámskeið is:

  • neuter,
  • singular,
  • nominative (subject of the sentence).

So the correct form is gott:

  • Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.
What is the word order here? Could it be arranged differently?

The sentence uses the normal subject–verb–complement order:

  • Netnámskeiðið (subject)
  • er (verb)
  • mjög gott (adverb + adjective as complement)

So:

Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.
The online course is very good.

You can move parts around for emphasis, but that sounds more marked or poetic:

  • Mjög gott er netnámskeiðið.
    → Emphasises “very good”; not the neutral everyday way to say it.

For normal speech, keep Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.

What does mjög mean exactly, and can it change form?

Mjög means “very”. It is an adverb, and it does not decline:

  • mjög gott – very good
  • mjög góð – very good (feminine)
  • mjög góðir – very good (masc. plural)

In all of these, mjög stays the same; only the adjective that follows changes.

Some similar intensifiers (also indeclinable) are:

  • virkilega – really
  • rosalega – terribly / really (colloquial)
  • frekar – rather / quite
How would I say “The online courses are very good” in Icelandic?

You need the plural definite form of the noun and plural agreement on the adjective and verb:

  • Netnámskeiðin eru mjög góð.

Breakdown:

  • Netnámskeið – online course
  • Netnámskeiðin – the online courses (neuter plural definite)
  • eru – are (3rd person plural of vera, to be)
  • góð – good (neuter plural form; nominative)

So:

  • Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott. – The online course is very good.
  • Netnámskeiðin eru mjög góð. – The online courses are very good.
What’s the difference between Netnámskeið er mjög gott and Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott?

The difference is indefinite vs definite:

  • Netnámskeið er mjög gott.
    → An online course is very good / An online course is very good (in general).

  • Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott.
    → The online course is very good (a specific course we both know about).

Icelandic shows this mostly with the suffix article:

  • no article: netnámskeið → a(n) online course
  • definite article: netnámskeiðið → the online course
How would I say “The online course is not very good”?

You add ekki (not) after the verb er:

  • Netnámskeiðið er ekki mjög gott.
    → The online course is not very good.

Word order:

  • Netnámskeiðið – subject
  • er – verb
  • ekki – negation
  • mjög gott – complement
How can I tell that Netnámskeið is a neuter noun?

A couple of clues:

  1. The definite form Netnámskeiðið ends in -ið, which is a very common neuter singular nominative definite ending.
  2. Many Icelandic nouns ending in -ið in the definite singular are neuter (though not all such endings are neuter, this is a strong pattern).

In dictionaries you will often see it given as:

  • netnámskeið, -s, - (n.)

The n. indicates neuter (hvorugkyn).

Can I put gott in front of the noun, like in English “a very good online course”?

Yes, but then the structure changes slightly. For “a very good online course” you would say:

  • mjög gott netnámskeið

Here:

  • gott is before the noun
  • the noun is indefinite (no -ið)
  • both gott and netnámskeið are in neuter singular nominative and agree in gender/number/case.

Compare:

  • Mjög gott netnámskeið. – A very good online course.
  • Netnámskeiðið er mjög gott. – The online course is very good.

Same words, but the position of the article and the role in the sentence are different.