Bærinn er lítill.

It is made of:

• bær = the noun stem
• -inn = the suffixed definite article, meaning the

So bærinn is the town (or whatever meaning bær has in the context shown).

A useful extra point: the final -r in bær is part of the noun’s nominative singular form, not the article.

Because Icelandic very often puts the definite article onto the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

So:

• bær = a town / town
• bærinn = the town

There is also a separate form related to the (hinn), but beginners will usually see the attached article much more often in ordinary sentences.

Because Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• usually case

Here, bærinn is masculine singular nominative, so the adjective also appears in the masculine singular nominative form:

• masculine: lítill
• feminine: lítil
• neuter: lítið

Compare:

• Bærinn er lítill.
• Borgin er lítil.
• Húsið er lítið.

This is a very common question.

After a verb like vera (to be), the adjective is usually a predicate adjective, and in that position Icelandic normally uses the strong adjective form:

• Bærinn er lítill.

But when the adjective comes directly before the noun inside the noun phrase, Icelandic usually uses the weak form if the noun is definite:

• litli bærinn = the small town

So the difference is:

• Bærinn er lítill. = The town is small.
• litli bærinn = the small town

It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

The adjective lítill is also in the nominative here, because it is linked to the subject through er.

So the pattern is:

• subject in nominative
• vera (to be)
• adjective agreeing with the subject

Er is the 3rd person singular present tense of vera (to be).

Some present-tense forms are:

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

In your sentence, the subject is singular, so er is the correct form.

If the subject were plural, you would use eru:

• Bæirnir eru litlir. = The towns are small.

Yes. In this sentence, you can tell that bær is masculine because:

• the definite form is bærinn
• the adjective is lítill, the masculine form

This is grammatical gender, not biological gender. Icelandic nouns belong to masculine, feminine, or neuter classes, and other words must match them grammatically.

Because this sentence is using the adjective as a description after the verb:

• Bærinn = subject
• er = is
• lítill = small

That is the normal pattern for The town is small.

If you put the adjective before the noun, you are no longer making the same kind of sentence. You are making a noun phrase:

• litli bærinn = the small town

So:

• Bærinn er lítill = complete sentence
• litli bærinn = noun phrase

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Bærinn ≈ BYE-rin
• er ≈ ehr
• lítill ≈ LEE-titl

A few pronunciation notes:

• æ sounds roughly like the vowel in eye
• í sounds like ee
• final -ll in Icelandic often has a special sound that English speakers often approximate as tl

So the whole sentence is roughly:

BYE-rin ehr LEE-titl

That is only an approximation, but it is a useful starting point.

Yes. Depending on context, bær can mean things like:

• town
• farm
• homestead

The exact meaning depends on context, but the grammar of the sentence works the same way either way.

So even if the meaning shown to you is town, it is good to know that bær is a context-dependent word.

Bærinn er lítill is the normal, neutral word order.

Icelandic can sometimes move words around for emphasis, style, or literary effect, but beginners should learn this as the standard pattern:

• subject + verb + adjective

So this sentence is a very good model for simple descriptions:

• Húsið er stórt. = The house is big.
• Bókin er góð. = The book is good.
• Bærinn er lítill. = The town is small.