Samtengingin er stutt, en mjög mikilvæg.

The conjunction is short, but very important.

Breakdown of Samtengingin er stutt, en mjög mikilvæg.

• vera: to be
• mjög: very
• en: but
• stuttur: short

Questions & Answers about Samtengingin er stutt, en mjög mikilvæg.

What is Samtengingin made up of?

Samtengingin = samtenging + the suffixed definite article -in.

• samtenging = conjunction
• -in = the

So Samtengingin means the conjunction.

It is:

• singular
• feminine
• nominative (the subject form)

Why is the attached to the noun instead of being a separate word?

In Icelandic, the definite article is very often added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word.

So:

• samtenging = conjunction
• samtengingin = the conjunction

This is one of the big differences from English. Icelandic does have separate article-like forms such as hinn / hin / hið, but in ordinary sentences the suffixed article is much more common.

Why is the verb er used here?

Er is the present tense singular form of vera, which means to be.

So:

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann / hún / það er = he / she / it is

In this sentence, Samtengingin is singular, so er means is.