Er stóllinn laus núna?

Is the chair free now?

Breakdown of Er stóllinn laus núna?

• vera: to be
• núna: now
• stóllinn: the chair
• laus: loose

Questions & Answers about Er stóllinn laus núna?

Why does the sentence start with Er?

Because Icelandic makes yes/no questions by putting the finite verb first (V1 word order).
Er is the present tense of vera (to be), so Er stóllinn laus núna? is literally Is the chair free now?

What exactly is stóllinn? Why is the -inn attached?

stóllinn = stóll (chair) + the suffixed definite article -inn (the).
So stóllinn means the chair. Icelandic normally expresses the by attaching an ending to the noun rather than using a separate word.

How do I know -inn is the definite article and not just part of the noun?

You’ll see the noun without it: stóll (a chair).
The pattern is common: stóll → stóllinn (the chair). Many masculine nouns take -inn in the nominative singular definite form.

Why is it laus and not something like laust or lausir?

Adjectives agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Here the noun is stóllinn: masculine, singular, nominative.
So the adjective is masculine singular nominative: laus.
(Neuter would typically be laust, plural masculine lausir, etc.)

Does laus literally mean free? Can it also mean something else?

Yes, laus can mean free/available/unoccupied in contexts like seats, chairs, tables, rooms, etc.
It can also have broader senses like loose (depending on context), but in this sentence it’s the standard way to ask if something is available to use.

Why is núna at the end? Is that the normal position for now?

Placing núna near the end is very common, especially in short questions. It’s similar to English …now?
You can also move time adverbs earlier for emphasis or style, but Er stóllinn laus núna? is a natural default.

Can I leave out núna?

Yes. Er stóllinn laus? means Is the chair free/available?
Adding núna emphasizes that you mean at this moment (e.g., it might have been reserved earlier or could become free later).

Why is there no word for there (as in “Is there a free chair?”)?

Icelandic often phrases this idea differently. This sentence is specifically Is the chair free now? (referring to a particular chair).
If you want the more general English idea Is there a free chair?, Icelandic would typically use an existence construction (often with vera til or other phrasing), not necessarily a direct there equivalent.

Is this referring to a specific chair? What if I mean “a chair” in general?

Yes—stóllinn is definite (the chair), so it points to a specific chair (maybe you’re pointing at it).
If you mean a chair, you’d use the indefinite form: Er stóll laus núna? (still grammatical, but less common unless the situation makes it clear you mean “any chair”).

How is stóllinn pronounced, especially the double ll?

A common approximate pronunciation is:

• stóllinn: roughly STOH-tlin (the ll is not like English l; it’s a voiceless “tl”-like sound in many Icelandic accents)
• laus: roughly like lœy-s (a diphthong; not exactly English ow)
  Exact pronunciation varies by region, but the key learner point is that Icelandic ll often sounds like tl rather than a plain l.

Is this a polite way to ask, for example in a café?

It’s neutral and perfectly usable. For extra politeness you can add afsakið (excuse me) or fyrirgefðu/fyrirgefið (sorry/excuse me, informal/plural-formal), e.g.
Afsakið, er stóllinn laus núna?
You can also address the person with má ég…? (may I…?) depending on what you’re asking next.

Could I use sæti instead of stóll?

Often, yes. sæti means seat and can be more natural if you mean a place to sit rather than a physical chair.
You might hear: Er sætið laust núna? (Is the seat free now?)
Note sæti is neuter, so the adjective becomes laust (neuter singular nominative): sætið laust.