Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Strákurinn er feiminn í nýju partíi.

Icelandic usually doesn’t use a separate word like English the; instead, it adds an ending to the noun (and changes it according to case and gender).

What form of the adjective is feiminn, and why that form?

Feiminn is the masculine nominative singular form of the adjective meaning shy.

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case:

The noun is strákurinn – the boy
- masculine
- singular
- nominative (subject of the sentence)

So the adjective also needs to be:

masculine, singular, nominative → feiminn

Other basic forms of this adjective:

masculine: feiminn
feminine: feimin
neuter: feimið

Why is feiminn after the verb er instead of before the noun, like “shy boy”?

In Icelandic:

When an adjective directly describes a noun (like “a shy boy”), it usually comes before the noun:
- feiminn strákur = “a shy boy”
But when the adjective is part of what the subject “is”, it goes after the verb vera (to be), just like in English “is shy”:
- Strákurinn er feiminn. = “The boy is shy.”

In this sentence, feiminn is a predicative adjective (after “is”), not an adjective directly in front of the noun, so it follows er.

What case is nýju partíi, and why is that case used?

Nýju partíi is in the dative singular (neuter).

The preposition í (“in/at”) can take either dative or accusative.
When í expresses location / being somewhere, it takes the dative.
- Here: The boy is shy *in/at a new party → a location → *dative

So:

Noun: partí (a party), neuter
- nominative/accusative: partí
- dative: partíi
Adjective agreeing with it in dative neuter: nýju

Hence: í nýju partíi (“in/at a new party”).

Why is it nýju and not nýtt in í nýju partíi?

Both nýju and nýtt come from the adjective nýr (new), but they are different forms:

nýtt = neuter nominative/accusative singular
- e.g. nýtt partí = “a new party” (as subject or direct object)
nýju = neuter dative singular
- used after í when it means being “in/at” a place

Since í here takes the dative (location), we need the dative neuter form:

í nýju partíi = in/at a new party
(preposition + dative → adjective must also be dative)

What kind of noun is partí, and why does it become partíi?

Partí is a neuter loanword (borrowed from another language, here ultimately from English “party”).

Many neuter nouns like this:

have partí as the nominative and accusative singular, and
add -i in the dative singular:

So:

Nom/Acc: partí
Dat: partíi → used after í (with location meaning)

If you made it definite, you’d usually say:

Nom/Acc: partíið = the party
Dat: partíinu = in/at the party (e.g. í partíinu)

Why do the adjectives have different endings: feiminn vs nýju?

They agree with different nouns:

feiminn describes strákurinn:
- strákurinn = masculine, singular, nominative
- → adjective: masculine, singular, nominative → feiminn
nýju describes partíi:
- partíi = neuter, singular, dative (after í)
- → adjective: neuter, singular, dative → nýju

So it’s normal that they look different: each adjective matches the gender and case of its own noun, not of the subject in general.

How would I change the sentence if I want “a boy is shy at a new party” instead of “the boy”?

To remove “the”, you remove the definite ending -inn:

Strákur er feiminn í nýju partíi.

Literally: Boy is shy at a new party.

In real Icelandic, to make it sound more natural for “a (one) boy”, people often add einn (“one”):

Einn strákur er feiminn í nýju partíi.
= One boy / A boy is shy at a new party.

If I want to say “at the new party” rather than “at a new party”, what changes?

You make partí definite and use the weak form of the adjective:

Indefinite: í nýju partíi = at a new party
Definite (with suffixed article): í nýja partíinu = at the new party

Changes:

partíi → partíinu (adds the definite ending -inu)
nýju → nýja (adjective switches to the weak form, which is used with a definite noun)

Does í nýju partíi mean “in a new party” or “at a new party”?

Literally it is “in a new party”, but idiomatic English normally says “at a new party” for being present at a party.

In Icelandic:

í partíi = in/at a party (standard phrasing)
English prefers “at the party”, even though Icelandic uses the preposition literally meaning “in”.

So the best natural translation here is:
“The boy is shy at a new party.”

How do I turn this into a yes–no question: “Is the boy shy at the new party?”

For yes–no questions, Icelandic moves the verb er to the front:

Statement:

Strákurinn er feiminn í nýja partíinu.
= The boy is shy at the new party.

Question:

Er strákurinn feiminn í nýja partíinu?
= Is the boy shy at the new party?

(If you keep the party indefinite, just leave í nýju partíi instead.)

How do you pronounce “Strákurinn er feiminn í nýju partíi.”?

Approximate IPA (broad transcription):

Strákurinn – /ˈstr̥auːkʏrɪn/
er – /ɛr/
feiminn – /ˈfeiːmɪn/
í – /iː/
nýju – /ˈniːjʏ/
partíi – /ˈpʰar̥tijɪ/

Very rough “English-style” approximation:

Strákurinn ≈ STROW-ku-rin (STROW like “straw” with more of an “ow” sound)
er ≈ ehr (like “air” but shorter)
feiminn ≈ FAY-min
í ≈ ee
nýju ≈ NEE-yuh
partíi ≈ PAR-tee-ih

Stress is always on the first syllable of each Icelandic word.