Vaskaklúturinn er stífur núna.

to be

Breakdown of Vaskaklúturinn er stífur núna.

• núna: now
• vaskaklúturinn: the dishcloth
• stífur: stiff

Questions & Answers about Vaskaklúturinn er stífur núna.

Why does vaskaklútur turn into vaskaklúturinn?

Because Icelandic typically attaches the definite article (the) to the end of the noun as a suffix.

• vaskaklútur = (a) washcloth (indefinite)
• vaskaklúturinn = the washcloth (definite)
  Here it’s -inn because vaskaklútur is a masculine noun in the nominative singular.

How can I tell the gender of vaskaklútur?

You usually learn gender with the noun, but there are clues:

• Many masculine nouns end in -ur in the nominative singular (not all, but it’s common).
  Also, the definite ending here (-inn) and the adjective form (stífur, masculine) both confirm it’s masculine in this sentence.

Why is the adjective stífur and not stíf or stíft?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

• vaskaklúturinn is masculine, singular, nominative
  So the adjective takes the matching form: stífur (masc. nom. sg.).
  For comparison (same adjective):
• feminine: stíf
• neuter: stíft