Lestrarsalurinn er opinn.

to be

Breakdown of Lestrarsalurinn er opinn.

• opinn: open
• lestrarsalurinn: the reading room

Questions & Answers about Lestrarsalurinn er opinn.

Where is the word the in this sentence?

It is built into lestrarsalurinn.

Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the. So:

• lestrarsalur = reading room
• lestrarsalurinn = the reading room

So the sentence does not need a separate word for the.

Why is lestrarsalurinn written as one word?

Because Icelandic uses compound nouns very freely.

English often writes this idea as two words, reading room, but Icelandic normally combines the parts into one noun:

• lestur = reading
• salur = hall, room

Together they form lestrarsalur.

This is very common in Icelandic, so long nouns are often easier to understand once you learn to spot the smaller parts inside them.

What does the lestrar- part mean?