Glasið brotnar, því það er gamalt.

The glass breaks because it is old.

Breakdown of Glasið brotnar, því það er gamalt.

• vera: to be
• það: it
• gamall: old
• glasið: the glass
• því: because
• brotna: to break

Questions & Answers about Glasið brotnar, því það er gamalt.

What does the -ið in Glasið mean?

-ið is the definite article attached to the noun (Icelandic usually attaches “the” to the end of the word).
So glas = a glass, and glasið = the glass (neuter, singular, nominative/accusative).

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Why is it glasið (not some other form like glasinu or glassins)?

Because in Glasið brotnar, the glass is the subject of the sentence, so it’s in the nominative case.
A quick case overview for glas:

• Nominative: (hið) glas / definite glasið
• Accusative: glas / glasið
• Dative: glasi / glasinu
• Genitive: glass / glassins

Here you need nominative → Glasið.

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Why does Icelandic use brotnar here instead of a verb meaning “breaks (something)”?

Because brotna is intransitive: it means to break (by itself) / to get broken.
If you break something on purpose, you typically use the transitive verb brjóta:

• Glasið brotnar. = the glass breaks (it cracks/shatters)
• Ég brýt glasið. = I break the glass

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How is brotnar conjugated, and why does it end in -ar?

brotnar is present tense, 3rd person singular of brotna. Present tense looks like:

• ég brotna
• þú brotnar
• hann/hún/það brotnar
• við brotnum
• þið brotnið
• þeir/þær/þau brotna

So -ar here is the normal 2nd/3rd person singular present ending pattern for many verbs of this type.

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Is því the same word as því meaning “therefore,” and how do I tell?

It’s the same spelling, but different common uses:

1) því as a conjunction = because / for (what you have here):
Glasið brotnar, því það er gamalt.

2) því meaning therefore / that’s why (often more “result” than “reason” in tone), typically used differently in sentence structure and punctuation.

Context and placement usually make it clear. In your sentence, því introduces the reason clause.

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Why is there a comma before því?

Because því is introducing an explanatory clause (a reason). In standard Icelandic punctuation, you normally separate that clause with a comma, much like English often does with ..., because ... (though English commas are more optional).

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Why do we need það in the second part—can it be left out?

Icelandic generally requires an explicit subject in a normal clause like það er gamalt.
Leaving it out (því er gamalt) would sound incomplete or would need a different structure (like an impersonal construction), which this is not.

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Why is the pronoun það used—does it refer back to glasið?

Yes. glas is neuter, so the matching pronoun is það (it).
If the noun were masculine or feminine, you’d use hann or hún:

• Bíllinn … því hann … (car = masculine)
• Bókin … því hún … (book = feminine)
• Glasið … því það … (glass = neuter)

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Why is gamalt in that form?

Because gamall (“old”) must agree with the noun/pronoun it describes. Here it describes það (= neuter singular nominative), so you get neuter singular nominative:

• masculine: gamall
• feminine: gömul
• neuter: gamalt

So: það er gamalt.

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Does word order change after því?

After því (as because/for), the clause normally keeps subject–verb order:
því það er gamalt (subject það before verb er).
That feels familiar to an English speaker; you don’t get the same kind of inversion you see in some other Icelandic contexts.

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How do I pronounce the tricky letters ð and þ in this sentence?

• þ is like English th in thin: því, það
• ð is like English th in this (often softer or even very light depending on position): glasið, það

Approximate pronunciations (varies by speaker):

• Glasið ≈ KLAH-sith
• því ≈ thvee
• það ≈ thahth (final ð can be very light)

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How would this look in the past tense?

You’d typically use past tense:

• Glasið brotnaði, því það var gamalt. = The glass broke, because it was old.

Here:

• brotnar → brotnaði (past of brotna)
• er → var (past of vera)