Svampurinn er í vaskinum núna.

to be

Breakdown of Svampurinn er í vaskinum núna.

• núna: now
• í: in
• vaskurinn: the sink

Questions & Answers about Svampurinn er í vaskinum núna.

Why does svampur appear as svampurinn?

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

• svampur = a sponge / sponge (indefinite)
• svampurinn = the sponge (definite)

Here, -inn is the masculine singular definite ending, and the noun’s ending adjusts to match it: svampur + inn → svampurinn.

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How do I know the gender of svampur, and does it matter here?

Svampur is masculine, and gender matters because it affects:

• the definite ending: -inn (masculine) → svampurinn
• case endings in phrases like í vaskinum (since vaskur is also masculine)

In this sentence, both svampurinn and vaskinum show masculine forms.

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Why is it er and not something else? Is that just “is”?

Yes—er is the present tense (3rd person singular) of að vera (to be).

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann/hún/það er = he/she/it is

So Svampurinn er... = The sponge is...