Questions & Answers about Það er mikil gleði í brúðkaupinu.
What is það er doing here? Does it mean it is or there is?
In this sentence, það er works like English there is.
So Það er mikil gleði... is literally something like There is great joy...
Icelandic often uses það er to introduce the existence or presence of something, especially when the real subject comes later in the sentence.
- það = it/that
- er = is
But here you should understand the whole expression það er as an existential pattern, not as a literal it is.
Why is it mikil and not mikið or mikla?
Because mikil has to agree with gleði.
The noun gleði is:
- feminine
- singular
- nominative here
So the adjective mikill must also appear in the feminine singular nominative form:
- masculine: mikill
- feminine: mikil
- neuter: mikið
That is why the sentence has mikil gleði.
What case is gleði, and why?