Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.

Patience is important in a good relationship.

Breakdown of Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.

• vera: to be
• góður: good
• í: in
• mikilvægur: important
• þolinmæði: the patience
• samband: the relationship

Questions & Answers about Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.

Why is there no word for “a” in this Icelandic sentence?

Icelandic has no separate word for the indefinite article (“a / an” in English).
So:

• Þolinmæði = patience or a patience (context decides)
• í góðu sambandi = in a good relationship (or just in good relationship(s))

If you want a definite article (“the”), Icelandic usually adds it as an ending on the noun (and often affects the adjective too), e.g.:

• gott samband – a good relationship / good relationship
• góða sambandið – the good relationship

What gender and case is þolinmæði, and why?

Þolinmæði is a feminine noun and here it is in the nominative singular.

• It is the subject of the sentence (patience), so it must be in nominative case.
• The nominative singular is the dictionary form; that’s why it appears simply as þolinmæði.

For a beginner, it’s enough to remember:

• þolinmæði (f.) = patience
• In this sentence it’s the subject → nominative singular.

Why is the adjective mikilvæg in that exact form?

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

• þolinmæði is feminine, singular, nominative.
• The adjective mikilvægur (“important”) has different forms:
  • masculine nominative sg: mikilvægur
  • neuter nominative sg: mikilvægt
  • feminine nominative sg: mikilvæg

Because it describes þolinmæði (fem. nom. sg.), we must use the feminine nominative singular form:

• Þolinmæði er mikilvæg = Patience is important.

Could I change the word order, like “Mikilvæg er þolinmæði” or “Í góðu sambandi er þolinmæði mikilvæg”?

Yes, Icelandic word order is fairly flexible compared with English, especially for emphasis. All of these are grammatically possible:

1. Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.
   – Neutral, straightforward.

2. Mikilvæg er þolinmæði í góðu sambandi.
   – Puts extra emphasis on mikilvæg (important).

3. Í góðu sambandi er þolinmæði mikilvæg.
   – Emphasises the context “in a good relationship”.

However, the original version sounds most natural as a neutral statement. The alternatives sound a bit more stylistic or poetic.

What case is í góðu sambandi, and why not í gott samband?

The phrase í góðu sambandi is in the dative singular:

• í = in
  
  • With location / state it usually takes dative.
  • With motion into something, it usually takes accusative.

Here we are talking about a state (in a good relationship), not movement, so we use dative:

• noun: samband (neuter)
  • nominative/accusative sg: samband
  • dative sg: sambandi
• adjective: góður (good)
  • neuter dative sg to agree with sambandi: góðu

So:

• í góðu sambandi = in (a) good relationship (dative)
• í gott samband would suggest movement into a good relationship, e.g. go into / enter a good relationship.

Why is it sambandi and not samband? What is the declension here?

Samband is a neuter noun. Its singular forms are:

• Nominative: samband
• Accusative: samband
• Dative: sambandi
• Genitive: sambands

Because of the preposition í (with a static meaning in), the noun must be in dative:

• í sambandi = in a relationship / in contact
• Add the agreeing adjective: í góðu sambandi.

What’s the difference between “í góðu sambandi”, “gott samband”, and “í góðu sambandinu”?

• í góðu sambandi

  • Literally: in a good relationship (or in good relationship).
  • Indefinite, general: talking about any good relationship, not a specific one.

• gott samband

  • a good relationship / good relationship.
  • No preposition, just a noun phrase.
  • You might say Við eigum gott samband – We have a good relationship.

• í góðu sambandinu

  • in the good relationship.
  • Definite: -inu is the neuter definite article ending (the).
  • Refers to some specific relationship already known in context.

In the original sentence, we’re making a general statement, so í góðu sambandi is the natural choice.

Does samband always mean a romantic relationship?

No. Samband is a quite general word meaning connection, relation, relationship, contact. It can refer to:

• Romantic relationships:
  
  • Við erum í sambandi. – We’re together / in a relationship.
• Family or social relationships:
  
  • Ég á gott samband við foreldra mína. – I have a good relationship with my parents.
• Contact / communication:
  
  • Við verðum í sambandi. – We’ll stay in touch / be in contact.
• Even telephone / network connection:
  
  • Það er ekkert samband. – There’s no signal / connection.

In your sentence, context usually makes learners interpret it as a personal (often romantic or close) relationship.

How do you pronounce Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English terms):

• Þolinmæði ≈ THO-lin-my-thi

  • Þ / þ: like th in thing (voiceless)
  • ó: like o in go (long)
  • æ: like eye
  • ð / ði: like th in this (voiced), then a short i

• er ≈ ehr (like air but shorter)

• mikilvæg ≈ MI-kil-vigh

  • i: like i in bit
  • final -æg: similar to saying eye but ending quickly, often [vaɪɣ] with a soft g-like sound.

• í: a long ee sound, like ee in see.

• góðu ≈ GO-thu

  • ó: like o in go
  • ð: like th in this
  • final u: short, like the u in put.

• sambandi ≈ SAM-ban-di

  • all vowels short, roughly as in English sum, bun, did.

Very rough full sentence: “THO-lin-my-thi ehr MI-kil-vigh ee GO-thu SAM-ban-di.”

Why is the verb er used, and what happened to the pronoun (“it”)?

Er is the third person singular form of the verb vera (to be).

Partial 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

In this sentence, the subject is Þolinmæði, so the verb must be 3rd person singular: er.

Icelandic does not need an extra pronoun like “it” here. You just say:

• Þolinmæði er mikilvæg…
  Literally: Patience is important…

Could I add “very” or other adverbs, e.g. “Þolinmæði er mjög mikilvæg í góðu sambandi”?

Yes. A very natural expansion is:

• Þolinmæði er mjög mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.
  – Patience is very important in a good relationship.

Word order:

• Subject: Þolinmæði
• Verb: er
• Adverb: mjög (very)
• Adjective: mikilvæg (important)
• Prepositional phrase: í góðu sambandi

Other common adverbs you might see in the same slot:

• afar mikilvæg – extremely important
• sérstaklega mikilvæg – especially important

Are there other common ways to express the same idea in Icelandic?

Yes, a few very natural alternatives:

• Þolinmæði skiptir miklu máli í góðu sambandi.
  – Patience matters a lot in a good relationship.
  (skipta máli = to matter / to be important)

• Það er mikilvægt að sýna þolinmæði í góðu sambandi.
  – It is important to show patience in a good relationship.

• Í góðu sambandi er mikilvægt að vera þolinmóður.
  – In a good relationship it is important to be patient.

All of these keep the same core idea but change the structure and some vocabulary.

Why isn’t there a pronoun like “hún” (“she”) before er mikilvæg?

In English you might think of:

• Patience, *it is important…*
• Or: She is important… (referring back to a feminine noun)

In Icelandic, you normally don’t repeat the subject with a pronoun in a simple sentence like this. The noun þolinmæði itself serves as the subject; there is no need to add hún:

• Þolinmæði er mikilvæg. – Patience is important.
• Not: Þolinmæði, hún er mikilvæg. (This wordy version is possible only in very marked, emphatic, or spoken styles.)

So the clean, natural form is exactly as given:
Þolinmæði er mikilvæg í góðu sambandi.