Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.

The apartment is bigger than the room.

Breakdown of Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.

• vera: to be
• herbergið: the room
• en: than
• íbúðin: the apartment
• stærri: larger

Questions & Answers about Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.

Why is there no separate word for the before íbúðin and herbergið?

Icelandic usually attaches the definite article (the) to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word before it.

• íbúð = a flat / an apartment

• íbúðin = the flat / the apartment

  • ending -in = feminine singular definite article in the nominative case
• herbergi = a room
• herbergið = the room
  
  • ending -ið = neuter singular definite article in the nominative/accusative

So the sentence literally has íbúð-in (apartment-the) and herbergi-ð (room-the) instead of a separate the.

What’s the basic form (dictionary form) of íbúðin and herbergið?

The dictionary form is the indefinite nominative singular:

• íbúð – feminine noun, an apartment

  • definite nominative singular: íbúðin (the apartment)

• herbergi – neuter noun, a room

  • definite nominative singular: herbergið (the room)

When you look these words up in a dictionary, you’ll find íbúð and herbergi, not the forms with the article attached.

What does stærri mean, and what is the base adjective?

stærri is the comparative form of the adjective stór (big).

• stór = big
• stærri = bigger
• stærstur = biggest

So Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið literally:
The apartment is bigger than the room.

Note the vowel change: ó → æ in the comparative (stór → stærri). This kind of change is common in Icelandic comparatives.

Does stærri agree with íbúðin in gender, number, and case?

Yes. Predicative adjectives in Icelandic normally agree with the noun they describe.

• íbúðin is feminine, singular, nominative
• stærri here is the feminine singular nominative form of the comparative

If the subject were neuter, the form would change:

• Herbergið er stærra. – The room is bigger.
  
  • herbergið: neuter singular nominative
  • stærra: neuter singular nominative comparative

So the ending of the comparative adjective changes according to the gender/number/case of the noun.

Why is the verb er used, and how does vera (to be) conjugate?

er is the 3rd person singular present form of vera (to be).

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

Because íbúðin is singular (the apartment), you use er:
Íbúðin er stærri … – The apartment is bigger …

What does en mean here, and is it the same word as but?

In this sentence, en means than and is used after a comparative:

• stærri en = bigger than

Yes, the same word en can also mean but, depending on context:

• Hann er stór en sterkur. – He is big but strong.
• Hann er stærri en ég. – He is bigger than I (am).

After a comparative adjective (like stærri), en is understood as than, not but.

Why is herbergið in this form after en? Why not some other case?

In standard Icelandic, when you compare two things with a simple structure like this, both sides are in the nominative:

• Íbúðin (nom.) er stærri en herbergið (nom.).
• Hann (nom.) er hærri en ég (nom.).

You can think of it as a shortened full clause:

• Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið er. – The apartment is bigger than the room is.
• Hann er hærri en ég er. – He is taller than I am.

Because you would normally use nominative with er (to be), that nominative is kept even when you drop the second er.

Could you say Íbúðin er stærri en herbergi without the -ið? What would that mean?

Yes, you can, but the meaning changes slightly:

• Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.
  – The apartment is bigger than the room. (a specific room you have in mind)

• Íbúðin er stærri en herbergi.
  – The apartment is bigger than a room. (a typical room / any room; more general)

So the definite ending -ið on herbergið makes it the room rather than a room.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move stærri or en herbergið to another place?

For a normal neutral statement, the word order here is pretty fixed:

• Subject – Verb – Adjective – en
  • noun
• Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.

You cannot naturally say:

• *Íbúðin stærri er en herbergið. (wrong in normal speech)
• *Stærri er íbúðin en herbergið. (only possible in very marked/poetic style)

The natural order in everyday Icelandic is:

• Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið.

How do you pronounce Íbúðin er stærri en herbergið?

Approximate pronunciation (not strict IPA, but close for an English speaker):

• Íbúðin ≈ EE-boo-thin

  • Í like a long ee in see
  • ð in búðin is a soft th as in this

• er ≈ ehr (like air but shorter)

• stærri ≈ STY-rri

  • æ like eye in my
  • rolled/trilled or tapped r

• en ≈ en (like en in ten)

• herbergið ≈ HER-ber-gyith

  • g before i is often like a soft y sound
  • final ð again a soft th (often very light and may almost disappear)

Said smoothly, something like:

EE-boo-thin ehr STY-rri en HER-ber-gyith.