Umbúðirnar eru ekki til staðar, því miður.

The packaging is not available, unfortunately.

Breakdown of Umbúðirnar eru ekki til staðar, því miður.

• vera: to be
• ekki: not
• því miður: unfortunately
• umbúðirnar: the packaging

Questions & Answers about Umbúðirnar eru ekki til staðar, því miður.

Why does Umbúðirnar end in -nar?

-nar is the attached definite article for feminine plural nominative nouns.
So umbúðir = packaging/wrappings (indefinite), and umbúðirnar = the packaging / the wrappings (referring to specific ones).

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What is the dictionary form of Umbúðirnar?

The lemma is usually given as umbúð (singular, feminine).
Common forms:

• Singular: umbúð (indef.), umbúðin (def.)
• Plural: umbúðir (indef.), umbúðirnar (def.)

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Why is umbúðir plural here—could it be singular?

Icelandic often uses the plural where English might use a mass noun like packaging. umbúðir commonly refers to packaging as a set (box + wrapping, etc.).
You can use singular umbúð if you mean one specific wrapper/package, but the plural is very natural for “the packaging” in general.

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Why is the verb eru and not er?

Because the subject Umbúðirnar is plural.

• er = is (3rd person singular)
• eru = are (3rd person plural)

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