Lánstíminn er langur.

The dictionary form is lánstími.

In lánstíminn, the ending -nn is the definite article attached to the noun, so:

• lánstími = loan period / loan term
• lánstíminn = the loan period / the loan term

This is very common in Icelandic: the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

Because Icelandic usually expresses the as a suffix.

Here the noun is masculine singular nominative, and the definite ending is -inn, so:

• lánstími → lánstíminn

This is one of the first big differences from English. Instead of saying the loan period with a separate article, Icelandic packs that meaning into the noun itself.

It is a compound noun:

• lán = loan
• tími = time, period

So lánstími literally means something like loan-time, which English expresses as loan period or loan term.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Icelandic, just as they are in German and other Germanic languages.

Because Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and usually case.

Here, lánstíminn is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative:

• masculine: langur
• feminine: löng
• neuter: langt

That is why the sentence uses langur.

It is in the nominative case.

That is because lánstíminn is the subject of the sentence, and the subject of a basic sentence with vera (to be) is normally nominative.

In this kind of sentence:

• lánstíminn = subject
• er = is
• langur = predicate adjective

The adjective also appears in the nominative here because it matches the subject.

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

So:

• vera = to be
• er = is

It is the same verb used in many basic descriptive sentences in Icelandic, just like English is.

Yes. Lánstíminn er langur follows a very normal pattern:

• subject
  • verb
    • description

So:

• Lánstíminn = subject
• er = verb
• langur = descriptive complement

This is the most straightforward word order in Icelandic main clauses. Icelandic does have verb-second behavior, so other elements can come first in different sentences, but this sentence is the basic, standard pattern.

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

• Lánstíminn er langur = the loan period is long
• Lánstími er langur = loan periods are long / a loan period is long / the concept of a loan period is long, depending on context

Icelandic has no indefinite article like English a/an, so the bare noun lánstími can mean a loan period or refer to the concept more generally. The version with -inn is specifically definite.

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

LOUN-stee-minn er LOUNG-kur

A few helpful points:

• á sounds roughly like ou in loud
• í sounds like ee in see
• ng in langur is pronounced like ng and often feels a bit like ngk
• the rolled or tapped r in er is more pronounced than in most English accents

This is only an approximation, but it gets you close.

Yes, very important.

In Icelandic, accents are not optional spelling marks. They are part of the correct written form and usually signal a different vowel sound.

For example:

• á is not the same as a
• í is not the same as i

So you should learn lánstíminn and langur with their correct spelling from the start.

They are:

• lánstími = dictionary form of lánstíminn
• vera = dictionary form of er
• langur = dictionary form of langur

This is useful because Icelandic words change form a lot. When you look them up in a dictionary, you usually need the base form, not the exact form that appears in the sentence.