Matching Adjectives to Nouns
In Icelandic, descriptive words (adjectives) change their endings to match the grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter) of the noun they describe.
- Masculine adjectives often end in -r, -ur, or -ll.
- Feminine adjectives usually drop the masculine ending. Sometimes the core vowels change as well, such as gamall becoming gömul.
- Neuter adjectives typically end in -t. Adjectives ending in -ill take -ið in the neuter (such as lítill becoming lítið).
Here is how common adjectives change across the three genders:
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| stór | stór | stórt | big |
| góður | góð | gott | good |
| gamall | gömul | gamalt | old |
| lítill | lítil | lítið | small |
Here are masculine adjectives in action:
| This is a big car. | Þetta er stór bíll. |
| This is a small dog. | Þetta er lítill hundur. |
Notice how the adjective changes when describing feminine nouns:
| This is a new book. | Þetta er ný bók. |
| Is this an old book? | Er þetta gömul bók? |
And here are the neuter forms:
| This is an old house. | Þetta er gamalt hús. |
| Is this a big table? | Er þetta stórt borð? |
Adjectives After "To Be"
An adjective must still match the noun's gender even when it is separated from the noun by the verb vera (to be).
| The woman is old. | Konan er gömul. |
| The girl is new here. | Stelpan er ný hér. |
When describing multiple things in one sentence, make sure each adjective agrees with its respective noun. You can connect contrasting descriptions using en (but) or og (and).
| The boy is big but the girl is small. | Strákurinn er stór en stelpan er lítil. |
| The child is big but the cat is small. | Barnið er stórt en kötturinn er lítill. |
| The woman is old but the teacher is new. | Konan er gömul en kennarinn er nýr. |
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