Skoðunin hans er skýr.

to be

Breakdown of Skoðunin hans er skýr.

• skýr: clear
• hans: his
• skoðunin: the opinion

Questions & Answers about Skoðunin hans er skýr.

What is skoðunin made up of?

It is:

• skoðun = opinion / view
• -in = the definite article, meaning the

So skoðunin literally means the opinion.

Icelandic usually attaches the to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

Why is the noun definite here? English just says his opinion, not the opinion his.

In Icelandic, it is very common for a noun with a possessive to appear in the definite form:

• skoðunin hans = his opinion
• bíllinn minn = my car
• húsið hennar = her house

So the definite ending here is normal Icelandic grammar. It does not mean something extra like the his opinion in English.

Is skoðun a feminine noun?

Yes. Skoðun is feminine.

That matters because adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. It also helps explain why the definite form is skoðunin.

A useful pattern: many nouns ending in -un are feminine, though you should still learn each noun with its gender.

Why does hans come after the noun?

Because that is the normal Icelandic pattern with hans, hennar, and þeirra as possessives.

So Icelandic prefers:

• skoðunin hans = his opinion

rather than putting hans first.

For a learner, noun + hans is the safest and most natural pattern to use.

What exactly is hans grammatically?

Hans is the possessive form meaning his. Historically and grammatically, it is the genitive form of hann (he).

An important point: hans does not change to match the thing possessed. It stays hans whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, or plural:

• bíllinn hans = his car
• bókin hans = his book
• húsið hans = his house

So in Skoðunin hans, hans simply means his.

What does er mean here?

Er means is.

It is the 3rd person singular present tense of vera (to be).

So:

• Skoðunin hans er skýr = His opinion is clear

If the subject were plural, you would use eru instead of er.

Why is skýr after er instead of before the noun?

Because skýr is a predicate adjective here. It comes after the verb er and describes the subject.

This is the same basic idea as in English:

• The opinion is clear
• not the clear opinion in this sentence

So skýr is not sitting inside the noun phrase with skoðunin hans. It comes after er because it is the complement of to be.

Why is the adjective form skýr and not something else?

Because Icelandic adjectives agree with the noun they describe.

Here, skýr agrees with skoðunin, which is:

• singular
• feminine
• nominative

So skýr is the correct agreeing form here.

A useful detail: for this adjective, the masculine and feminine nominative singular forms happen to look the same: skýr. The neuter form is different:

• Það er skýrt = That is clear

What case is skoðunin in, and what case is skýr in?

Skoðunin is in the nominative because it is the subject of the sentence.

After vera (to be), the predicate adjective also normally appears in the nominative, so skýr is nominative too.

Meanwhile, hans is a possessive form based on the genitive of hann.

So the sentence contains:

• skoðunin = nominative subject
• hans = possessive/genitive form
• skýr = nominative adjective agreeing with the subject

Could I say Hans skoðun er skýr instead?

As a beginner, you should treat Skoðunin hans er skýr as the normal neutral way to say it.

Putting hans before the noun is not the usual everyday pattern here and can sound marked, literary, or simply non-basic for learners. So for normal usage, stick with:

• skoðunin hans

rather than trying to front hans.

How should I pronounce the tricky parts: ó, ý, and ð?

A simple learner-friendly guide:

• ó is roughly like the vowel in go
• ý is roughly like ee in see
• ð is roughly like th in this, though in real speech it can sound softer

So a rough approximation would be:

• Skoðunin ≈ SKO-thu-nin
• skýr ≈ skeer

Also remember: Icelandic stress usually falls on the first syllable of the word.