Spilið er blátt.

Because Icelandic usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

• spil = a game / a card-related item, depending on context
• -ið = the for a neuter singular noun in this form

So spilið means the game or the card/item, depending on the meaning you were given.

Spil is neuter.

You can see that in this sentence because:

• the definite ending is -ið
• the adjective appears as blátt, which is the neuter singular form of blár (blue)

In Icelandic, nouns have grammatical gender, and adjectives have to match that gender.

Because Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

The basic forms are:

• masculine: blár
• feminine: blá
• neuter: blátt

Since spilið is neuter singular, the adjective also has to be neuter singular, so you get blátt.

This is a very common question.

In Spilið er blátt, the adjective comes after the verb er and works as a predicate adjective. In that position, Icelandic normally uses the form blátt, not a special definite adjective form.

So:

• Spilið er blátt = The game/card is blue

But if the adjective comes before the noun, Icelandic changes the form:

• bláa spilið = the blue game/card

So the difference is:

• predicate: spilið er blátt
• before the noun: bláa spilið

Er means is.

It is the present tense, third person singular form of the verb vera (to be).

So:

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

In this sentence, spilið is singular, so er is the correct form.

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

In a basic sentence like this:

• spilið = subject
• er = verb
• blátt = predicate adjective

The adjective also matches the subject, so blátt is nominative neuter singular too.

That is just the normal neuter singular form of this adjective.

The adjective blár changes by gender:

• blár = masculine
• blá = feminine
• blátt = neuter

So the -tt is part of the standard neuter form. It is something you simply have to learn as part of the adjective pattern.

A rough guide is:

• spil sounds somewhat like speel
• -ið is the attached the

A very rough English-friendly approximation would be SPEE-lith or SPEE-lith, though exact Icelandic pronunciation is a bit different.

A few helpful points:

• i in Icelandic is not the same as English i
• ð is related to the th sound in this
• at the end of a word, that sound may be quite light

In this sentence, yes.

• Spilið = subject
• er = is
• blátt = blue

So it follows the familiar pattern:

subject + verb + adjective

That said, Icelandic word order can be more flexible than English in other kinds of sentences.

You would usually say:

Er spilið blátt?

That means Is the game/card blue?

Notice that the verb er moves to the front. That is a very common Icelandic pattern in yes/no questions.

You would say:

blátt spil

Here the adjective comes before the noun, and both are indefinite:

• blátt = blue, neuter singular
• spil = game/card/item

So:

• blátt spil = a blue game/card
• bláa spilið = the blue game/card
• spilið er blátt = the game/card is blue

These three are similar in meaning, but the grammar is different.

Yes. It shows a very useful basic pattern in Icelandic:

[definite noun] + [form of vera] + [adjective matching the noun]

For example:

• Húsið er stórt. = The house is big.
• Barnið er glatt. = The child is happy.
• Spilið er blátt. = The game/card is blue.

So this sentence is a good model for building many simple descriptions in Icelandic.