Maðurinn er grannur.

Breakdown of Maðurinn er grannur.

vera
to be
maðurinn
the man
grannur
slim, slender

Questions & Answers about Maðurinn er grannur.

Why does the word for "the man" end in "-inn"?
In Icelandic, the word for "the" is not a separate word like in English. Instead, it gets attached to the end of the noun. The base word is maður (man), and -inn is the masculine ending for "the", giving us maðurinn (the man).
Why does the adjective grannur end in "-ur"?
Adjectives in Icelandic must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because maðurinn is a masculine noun in the subject position, the adjective takes the standard masculine ending -ur.
How would this sentence change if we were talking about "the woman"?
The word for woman is kona, which becomes konan (the woman). The adjective must also change to its feminine form. The sentence becomes Konan er grönn (The woman is slim). Notice how the vowel in the adjective shifts from "a" to "ö" to match the feminine gender!

Learn Maðurinn er grannur and more in Icelandic

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free