Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Skyr er góður matur.

There is no separate word for “a/an” in Icelandic. The language simply doesn’t have an indefinite article.
The definite article (“the”) is normally a suffix attached to the noun (e.g. maturinn = the food), not a separate word.

In Skyr er góður matur, both skyr and matur are used in a general, generic sense:

Skyr = skyr in general, not the skyr on the table.
góður matur = good food in general, not the good food in a specific situation.

So the sentence corresponds to English “Skyr is good food” or “Skyr is a good food”, but Icelandic doesn’t need (or allow) an “a” here, and it doesn’t use “the” because the meaning is generic, not specific.

Why is the verb er used here? What form is it?

Er is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb vera (to be).

vera – to be
- 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

In Skyr er góður matur:

The grammatical subject is Skyr.
Skyr is treated as 3rd person singular.
So the correct form is er = is.

You wouldn’t say Skyr eru góður matur, because eru is plural (are), and skyr is grammatically singular.

Why is góður in that specific form and not góð, gott, or something else?

Adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in:

gender (masculine / feminine / neuter)
number (singular / plural)
case (nominative / accusative / dative / genitive)

In the phrase góður matur:

matur (food) is masculine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective góður also needs to be masculine singular nominative.

Basic forms of góður (good) in the nominative singular are:

góður – masculine
góð – feminine
gott – neuter

Because matur is masculine, the only correct option here is góður.

How do we know that matur is masculine and in the nominative case?

You know this from two clues:

Dictionary form and meaning
- The noun matur (food, a meal) is listed in dictionaries as matur (m), meaning it is masculine.
- Its basic, citation form is the nominative singular: matur.
Role in the sentence (grammar)
In Skyr er góður matur, the structure is:
- Skyr – subject
- er – verb
- góður matur – predicate noun phrase (what skyr is)
In Icelandic, after “to be” with this A = B structure, both sides normally appear in the nominative case (this is called a predicate nominative).

So matur stays in nominative singular masculine, and the adjective góður matches it in gender/number/case.

Why is Skyr treated as masculine? It doesn’t look like a typical masculine noun.

The grammatical gender of many Icelandic nouns is lexical—you simply have to learn each noun’s gender with the word.

Skyr (the dairy product) is masculine in Icelandic.
That’s why it takes masculine forms of adjectives and pronouns:
- Skyr er góður. – Skyr is good.
- Hann er góður. – It (skyr) is good.

Even though skyr doesn’t end in -ur, it is still masculine by dictionary convention, just as some English nouns are arbitrarily gendered in other languages. There is no reliable rule from the spelling -yr that tells you the gender; you memorize it with the word:
skyr (m) = masculine.

Why is matur in the same case as Skyr? In English you’d say “Skyr is good food”, not “Skyr is good foods”.

The number and case issue are separate:

Number: both Skyr and matur are singular.
Case: both are in the nominative because of the verb vera (to be) and the type of sentence.

In Icelandic, in an equation-like sentence “A is B”, both A and B typically appear in the nominative case:

Skyr er góður matur. – Skyr is (a) good food.
Jón er kennari. – Jón is (a) teacher.
Hún er læknir. – She is (a) doctor.

So Skyr and matur are not both “subjects”; only Skyr is the grammatical subject. But the predicative noun (matur) still appears in the nominative to match the subject in this type of construction.

Could I just say Skyr er góður? What would be the difference from Skyr er góður matur?

Yes, you can say Skyr er góður, and it is perfectly grammatical. The difference is:

Skyr er góður.
- Literally: Skyr is good.
- This is a more general statement about quality: you like skyr; it tastes good; it’s good in some broad sense.
Skyr er góður matur.
- Literally: Skyr is good food.
- This stresses that skyr is good as food—nutritious, suitable as something to eat, a good kind of food.

So góður alone is more vague: good in what way?
Adding matur specifies that you mean good as food (not, say, good as a building material or a cultural symbol).

Why isn’t it Skyrið er góður matur with the definite article, like “The skyr is good food”?

You can say Skyrið er góður matur, but the meaning changes:

Skyr er góður matur.
- General statement about skyr as a type of food.
- Similar to: “Skyr (in general) is good food.”
Skyrið er góður matur.
- Skyrið = the skyr, a specific portion or batch that speaker and listener have in mind.
- This would mean something like: “This (particular) skyr is good food.” or “The skyr (we’re talking about) is good food.”

Because learners usually see this sentence as a generic statement about what skyr is like as a food, no definite article is used, and the bare noun Skyr is correct.

What is the basic word order in this sentence? Could I say Góður matur er skyr instead?

The normal word order in Icelandic main clauses is Subject – Verb – (rest), similar to English.

Skyr – subject
er – verb
góður matur – complement (predicate noun phrase)

So Skyr er góður matur follows the standard order.

You can say Góður matur er skyr, but:

It would sound marked or emphatic, roughly like saying in English:
“Good food is skyr.” (with stress on good food as the topic)
This puts góður matur in initial position for focus or contrast.

For a neutral, simple statement that you’d usually learn first, Skyr er góður matur is the natural word order.

How do you pronounce Skyr er góður matur?

Approximate pronunciation in IPA (simplified):

Skyr – [scɪːr] or [scɪr] (the exact vowel can vary by dialect; often a bit like English “skeer” but shorter and tenser)
er – [ɛr] (like “air” with a trilled/rolled r)
góður – [ˈkouːðʏr]
- ó = [ou] (like English “go” or “oh”, but pure)
- ð = soft th as in English “this”
- final ur = [ʏr], with a short [ʏ] (like German “ü”) and trilled r
matur – [ˈmaːtʏr]
- a = [aː] (like a long “ah”)
- t is a clear [t]
- final ur again [ʏr]

Very rough English-like approximation (not accurate, but for a feel):

Skyr er góður matur ≈ “Skeer ehr GOH-thur MAH-tur” (with trilled r’s, and vowels a bit different from English).

Is skyr countable or uncountable in Icelandic? Can you say “a skyr” or “two skyrs”?

In Icelandic, skyr usually behaves like a mass (uncountable) noun, similar to English “milk” or “yogurt”:

You normally talk about some skyr, a bowl of skyr, a tub of skyr, etc.
You don’t typically count “one skyr, two skyrs” in everyday Icelandic.

So:

Skyr er góður matur. – Skyr is good food. (skyr in general, uncountable)
If you want to talk about separate units, you would specify the container or portion:
- ein dós af skyri – a tub/cup of skyr
- tvær dósir af skyri – two tubs/cups of skyr

Grammatically, skyr is masculine singular, but in terms of meaning, it’s treated like an uncountable food in this kind of generic sentence.