„Stór“ og „lítill“ eru andheiti.

to be

Breakdown of „Stór“ og „lítill“ eru andheiti.

• lítill: small
• stór: big
• og: and

Questions & Answers about „Stór“ og „lítill“ eru andheiti.

Why is the verb eru used here instead of er?

Because the subject is two things together: stór and lítill.

• er = is (singular)
• eru = are (plural)

So Icelandic treats stór og lítill as a plural subject, just like English does in big and small are opposites.

This is the present tense of að vera (to be):

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann/hún/það er = he/she/it is
• við/vér erum = we are
• þið eruð = you are
• þeir/þær/þau eru = they are

So here, eru simply means are.

Why are stór and lítill in these particular forms?

They are being given in their basic citation form, the form you would usually learn first for an adjective: masculine singular nominative.

So:

• stór = masculine singular nominative
• lítill = masculine singular nominative

This is the form you would use with a masculine singular noun, for example:

• stór hundur = a big dog
• lítill hundur = a small dog

When Icelandic talks about words themselves, it often uses this basic dictionary-style form.