Setningin er skýr.

to be

Breakdown of Setningin er skýr.

• skýr: clear
• setningin: the sentence

Questions & Answers about Setningin er skýr.

Why does setning become setningin?

Icelandic usually expresses the with a suffix (a “postposed definite article”) attached to the noun.

• setning = sentence (indefinite)
• setningin = the sentence (definite)
  The ending -in here is the definite ending for a feminine singular noun in the nominative.

What gender is setning, and how do I know?

Setning is feminine in Icelandic. Gender is mostly something you learn with the noun, but you can often see it in agreement and endings:

• The definite form setningin uses the feminine definite ending pattern.
• In other cases you’ll see forms like setningu (acc./dat. sg.) and setningar (gen. sg.), which match common feminine declension patterns.

What case is setningin in here, and why?

It’s nominative, because it’s the subject of the sentence. With the verb vera (to be), the subject stays nominative, and the predicate adjective typically agrees with the subject (also in nominative).

Why is the adjective skýr not changing to match setningin (since the noun is feminine)?