Nútíðin er góð.

The present is good.

Breakdown of Nútíðin er góð.

• vera: to be
• góður: good
• nútíðin: the present

Questions & Answers about Nútíðin er góð.

Why does Nútíðin end in -in? Is that like saying “the present”?

Yes. Icelandic usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word in front of it.

• nútíð = “present (time/present tense)”
• -in = the feminine singular definite article (“the”)
• nútíð + in → nútíðin = “the present”

So Nútíðin er góð literally means “The present is good.”
There is also a separate word hinn that can function as a definite article, but in modern Icelandic it’s rarely used this way in everyday speech; the suffix is the normal way.

What is the base (dictionary) form of Nútíðin, and what gender and case is it here?

The dictionary form is nútíð.

In this sentence, Nútíðin is:

• Gender: feminine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative (subject of the sentence)
• Definiteness: definite (because of -in)

So grammatically, Nútíðin = “the present” in nominative singular feminine.

Could I say Nútíð er góð without the -in ending? Would that be wrong?

You can say Nútíð er góð, but it sounds more abstract and less natural in ordinary conversation.

• Nútíðin er góð – “The present (time) is good.” (what we normally mean)
• Nútíð er góð – “Present is good.” (more like a general statement about the concept of “presentness”)

Because you’re talking about the present time you are living in, Icelandic strongly prefers the definite form Nútíðin here.

Why is the adjective góð and not góður, gott, or góða?

The form of the adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• Nútíðin is feminine, singular, nominative
• The “strong” form of góður (good) in feminine singular nominative is góð

So:

• masculine nominative: góður – e.g. maðurinn er góður (“the man is good”)
• feminine nominative: góð – e.g. konan er góð (“the woman is good”), Nútíðin er góð
• neuter nominative: gott – e.g. veðrið er gott (“the weather is good”)

You often see forms like góða, góðan, etc. in other cases (accusative, dative, genitive) or in the “weak” declension, but in a simple sentence with vera (“to be”) and a subject in the nominative, you normally use the strong nominative form of the adjective, which here is góð.

What exactly does nútíð mean? Is it “the present time” or “the present tense” (in grammar)?

Nútíð is used for both, and the meaning depends on context:

1. Present time / the present (as in life, history, now)

   • Við tölum um nútíð og framtíð. – “We talk about the present and the future.”

2. Present tense (in grammar)

   • Þetta sögn er í nútíð. – “This verb is in the present tense.”

In Nútíðin er góð, speakers will normally understand it as “The present (time) is good”, unless you are clearly talking about grammar, where it could be taken as “The present tense is good/easy/OK.”

Why is the verb er used here? Does it change with person and number like in English?

Er is the present tense form of the verb vera (“to be”) used with third person singular subjects like he/she/it/the present.

Some forms of vera in the present tense:

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

Since Nútíðin is third person singular, you use er:

• Nútíðin er góð. – “The present is good.”

How would I say “The present was good” or “The present will be good”?

You just change the tense of vera:

• Past tense (was):
  Nútíðin var góð. – “The present was good.”

• Future meaning (will be): Icelandic often uses a present tense with an adverb, but you can also use munu:

  • More neutral: Nútíðin verður góð. – “The present will be good.”
  • Or with a modal: Nútíðin mun verða góð. – also “The present will be good.”

In everyday speech, verður is very common for “will be”.

What is the normal word order? Could I also say Góð er nútíðin?

The neutral word order in Icelandic main clauses is typically:

Subject – Verb – (rest)

So the straightforward version is:

• Nútíðin er góð. – Subject (Nútíðin) + Verb (er) + Adjective (góð)

You can say Góð er nútíðin, but that sounds more poetic or emphatic:

• It puts special emphasis on góð (“good”), like saying “Good is the present” in English poetic style.

In normal conversation or writing, stick with Nútíðin er góð.

How do you pronounce Nútíðin er góð?

Approximate pronunciation (using English-like hints):

• Nútíðin ≈ “NOO-tee-thin”
  • nú: long “oo” sound, like in “food” but shorter and tenser
  • tíð: “tee” + a soft th at the end (like “the”), so roughly “tee-th”
  • -in: like “in” in English, but unstressed
• er ≈ “ehr” (like “air” but shorter)
• góð ≈ somewhere between “goth” and “goadh”
  • long ó (like a long “o” in “go”), followed by a soft ð (voiced “th” as in “this”)

Very rough IPA: [ˈnuːˌtʰiːðin ɛr ˈgouːð] (pronunciation can vary slightly by speaker/region).

What do the accents on ú and í do in Nútíðin? Do they change the stress?

In Icelandic, the little line over vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý, æ, ö) mainly marks a different vowel quality/length, not stress.

• Stress: In almost all Icelandic words, stress is on the first syllable by default. So NÚ-tíð-in is stressed on nú-.
• Vowel quality/length:
  • u vs ú: different sounds; ú is like a longer, tenser “oo”.
  • i vs í: í is a longer, tenser “ee” sound.

So:

• nú has a long ú: [nuː]
• tíð has a long í: [tʰiːð]

The accents don’t add extra stress; they change the vowel sound itself.

Why is Nútíðin capitalized? Is it always capitalized in Icelandic?

It’s capitalized here only because it’s the first word of the sentence.

In Icelandic:

• Common nouns like nútíð are not normally capitalized in the middle of a sentence.
• You would write:
  Við tölum um nútíðina. – “We talk about the present.”

So if nútíðin appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would be written with a lowercase n.