Þessi mánuður er langur.

This month is long.

Breakdown of Þessi mánuður er langur.

• vera: to be
• þessi: this
• langur: long
• mánuður: the month

Questions & Answers about Þessi mánuður er langur.

What are the grammatical roles of the words in Þessi mánuður er langur?

• Þessi – demonstrative adjective/pronoun: this
• mánuður – noun, month; subject of the sentence
• er – verb, is (3rd person singular of vera = to be)
• langur – adjective, long, used as a predicative adjective (describing the subject after er)

So the structure is: [This month] [is] [long].

What case and gender is mánuður, and why?

• mánuður is masculine, nominative singular.
• It is in the nominative because it is the subject of the sentence.
• The -ur ending is a very common marker of masculine nominative singular in Icelandic.

Very roughly, the main singular forms of mánuður are:

• Nominative: mánuður – (subject)
• Accusative: mánuð – (direct object)
• Dative: mánuði
• Genitive: mánaðar

Why do we use Þessi and not Þetta?

The form of this has to agree with the gender, number and case of the noun.

• mánuður is masculine nominative singular.
• The masculine nominative singular form of this is þessi.
• þetta is the neuter nominative/accusative singular form, used with neuter nouns.

A very small part of the paradigm:

• Masculine: þessi (nom. sg.)
• Feminine: þessi (nom. sg.)
• Neuter: þetta (nom./acc. sg.)

So you say:

• Þessi mánuður – this month (masc.)
• Þetta hús – this house (neut.)
• Þessi bók – this book (fem.)

Why is it langur here, and not löng, langt, or langan?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun in gender, number and case.

• The noun phrase Þessi mánuður is masculine nominative singular.
• The adjective langur must therefore also be masculine nominative singular (strong form).

Relevant forms of langur:

• Masculine nominative singular: langur – used here
• Feminine nominative singular: löng
• Neuter nominative/accusative singular: langt

Forms in other cases (like langan, löngu, etc.) appear when the noun is in accusative, dative, etc.

In Þessi mánuður er langur, the adjective stands after er and describes the subject, so it appears in nominative, agreeing with mánuður.

Why can’t I say Þessi mánuður er langt?

langt is the neuter form (neuter nominative/accusative singular).

• The subject mánuður is masculine, not neuter.
• The adjective must match the subject: masculine nominative singular → langur, not langt.

So:

• Þessi mánuður er langur. ✅
• Þetta hús er langt. ✅ (hús is neuter)
• Þessi mánuður er langt. ❌ (wrong agreement)

What is the verb er? Is it like English is?

Yes.

• er is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb vera (to be).
• It corresponds to English is.

A few forms of vera (present tense):

• 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

So Þessi mánuður er langur = This month is long.

Can I say Þessi mánuður er lengi instead of langur?

No. lengi is an adverb, not an adjective.

• langur = long (adjective) – used to describe a noun: a long month, the month is long.
• lengi = for a long time (adverb) – describes how long something happens.

Correct uses:

• Þessi mánuður er langur. – This month is long. ✅
• Ég bíð lengi. – I wait for a long time. ✅

So Þessi mánuður er lengi ❌ is ungrammatical; the verb er needs an adjective (a property of the subject), not an adverb of time.

Can I change the word order, like Langur er þessi mánuður?

Yes, but it changes the style and emphasis.

• Þessi mánuður er langur. – Normal, neutral word order (subject–verb–adjective).
• Langur er þessi mánuður. – More poetic/literary or emphatic, roughly Long is this month.

In everyday speech, you usually keep subject – verb – complement:

• Þessi mánuður er langur.

How would I say This long month is difficult and These months are long?

1. This long month is difficult.

Here the adjective long comes before the noun and the noun is definite (this particular month), so the adjective takes the weak form:

• Þessi langi mánuður er erfiður.
  
  • Þessi – this
  • langi – long (weak masculine nominative singular)
  • mánuður – month
  • er erfiður – is difficult

2. These months are long.

Now we have plural:

• Þessir mánuðir eru langir.
  
  • Þessir – these (masc. nom. pl.)
  • mánuðir – months (nom. pl.)
  • eru – are
  • langir – long (masc. nom. pl., agreeing with mánuðir)

How do I pronounce Þessi mánuður er langur?

Approximate pronunciation (not strict IPA):

• Þessi – THEH-sih

  • Þ like th in thing (unvoiced).
  • Stress on the first syllable: THEH.

• mánuður – MAU-nu-thur

  • á like the ow in cow.
  • ú here is a close u sound, similar to oo in good, but shorter and more fronted.
  • ð like th in this (voiced).
  • Final -ur has a short u and a tapped/rolled r.

• er – ehr, like air but shorter.

• langur – LAU-ngur

  • a + ng a bit like lung in English, but with a clearer ng and rolled r at the end.
  • Again, stress on the first syllable: LAU.

In Icelandic, stress is almost always on the first syllable of the word: ÞESSI MÁnuður ER LANgur (primary stress on the capitalized syllables).