Bíllinn kostar tuttugu þúsund.

the car

Breakdown of Bíllinn kostar tuttugu þúsund.

• kosta: to cost
• tuttugu: twenty
• þúsund: thousand

Questions & Answers about Bíllinn kostar tuttugu þúsund.

Why is the attached to bíll as bíllinn instead of being a separate word?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the noun.

• bíll = car
• bíllinn = the car

So -inn here is the masculine singular nominative form of the definite article. Icelandic does have separate words that can function a bit like the in some contexts, but the normal everyday pattern is the suffix article.

This sentence also shows a useful contrast with English: Icelandic normally has no true indefinite article. So bíll can mean a car or just car, depending on context.

Why is the verb kostar and not kosta?

The infinitive is að kosta = to cost.

In the present tense, the form changes depending on the subject:

• ég kosta = I cost
• þú kostar = you cost
• hann/hún/það kostar = he/she/it costs

Since bíllinn is singular and means the car / it, the correct form is kostar.

So:

• Bíllinn kostar ... = The car costs ...

Why doesn’t the sentence include a currency word like krónur?