Skjárinn er of skær, svo ég slekk á lampanum.

The screen is too bright, so I turn off the lamp.

Breakdown of Skjárinn er of skær, svo ég slekk á lampanum.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• skær: bright
• svo: so
• of: too
• slökkva á: to turn off
• lampinn: the lamp
• skjárinn: the screen

Questions & Answers about Skjárinn er of skær, svo ég slekk á lampanum.

Why does skjár appear as skjárinn?

Skjárinn is skjár (“screen”) with the definite article attached as a suffix:

• skjár = a screen
• skjárinn = the screen
  The ending -inn is the masculine singular nominative definite ending.

What gender is skjár, and does that affect anything here?

Skjár is masculine. That matters for:

• the definite ending: skjár + -inn → skjárinn
• agreement of predicate adjectives (like skær) with the subject (masc. sg. nom. here).

Why is it er of skær and not something like er of skærinn?

In Icelandic, when an adjective is used as a predicate adjective (after vera “to be”), it typically takes the strong form and agrees with the noun in gender/number/case, but it does not take the definite ending just because the noun is definite.
So you get:

• Skjárinn er skær. = The screen is bright.

What does of mean here, and where does it go in the sentence?

of is an adverb meaning too / excessively. It normally comes right before the adjective/adverb it modifies:

• of skær = too bright
  So Skjárinn er of skær is the normal placement.

Is skær “bright” the only option, and is it a common word?

Skær is a correct word for “bright” (often “bright/vivid” in the sense of intense light or color). Depending on context, learners also often meet:

• bjartur (common “bright”)
  But skær works well when something is piercing/strong in brightness.

What is svo doing here—does it mean “so,” “then,” or “therefore”?

Here svo introduces a result/consequence clause: “so / therefore.”
Pattern: [statement], svo [result].
It’s close to English “…, so I …” in everyday speech.

Why is there no word like “that” (as in “so that I turn off…”), and could Icelandic use one?

Icelandic can express this idea in multiple ways. Your sentence uses a simple svo + main clause structure. Another common option is:

• Skjárinn er of skær, þannig að ég slekk á lampanum. = … so that / so I turn off the lamp.
  Both can be fine; þannig að is often a bit more explicit/neutral.

What is the base form of slekk, and how does this verb work?

slekk is 1st person singular present tense of slökkva (“to extinguish/turn off”).
Common forms:

• infinitive: slökkva
• present (ég): slekk
• past (ég): slökkti
  It’s used for turning off lights, candles, devices, etc.

Why does it say slekk á—what does á mean here?

With turning devices/lights on and off, Icelandic commonly uses the particle/preposition á:

• kveikja á = turn on
• slökkva á = turn off
  The á doesn’t mean “on” in a literal location sense here; it’s part of the standard verb pattern.

Why is it á lampanum (dative + definite) instead of just á lampann or á lampi?

The preposition á in this construction takes the dative: á + dative.
lampanum is:

• lampi (masc. noun) → dative singular definite lampanum (“the lamp”)
  So slekk á lampanum = “turn off the lamp.”
  Using lampann would be accusative, which is not what this á-construction requires.

How is this sentence pronounced (especially skjárinn, skær, and slekk)?

Key points:

• Stress is usually on the first syllable: SKJÁ-rinn, SLEKK.
• skjá- has an -j- sound; sj/skj can sound somewhat like an English “sh/sy” blend depending on speaker.
• æ in skær is like the vowel in English eye for many learners.
• kk in slekk is a long/strong k sound (geminate), held a bit longer than a single k.

Why is there a comma before svo?

The comma separates two clauses: 1) Skjárinn er of skær
2) svo ég slekk á lampanum
In Icelandic writing, a comma is commonly used before connectors like svo when they introduce a following clause like this.