Questions & Answers about Skyr er góður matur.
Why is there no word for “a” or “the” in this sentence?
Icelandic works differently from English with articles.
- 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