Breakdown of Þríhyrningurinn og ferningurinn eru báðir bláir.
vera
to be
og
and
blár
blue
báðir
both (m, f, n)
ferningurinn
the square (shape)
þríhyrningurinn
the triangle
Questions & Answers about Þríhyrningurinn og ferningurinn eru báðir bláir.
Why are báðir (both) and bláir (blue) in the masculine plural form?
In Icelandic, plural adjectives and pronouns must agree with the gender of the nouns they describe. Since both þríhyrningurinn and ferningurinn are masculine nouns, the adjectives take the masculine plural ending -ir. If even one of the shapes had been a different gender, the adjectives would have defaulted to the neuter plural.
Do you have to repeat the definite article -inn on both nouns?
Yes. In English, it is common to say 'the triangle and square', dropping the second 'the'. In Icelandic, you usually must attach the definite article suffix to every noun in the list if they are all specific. That is why you see both þríhyrningurinn and ferningurinn.
How are the shape names þríhyrningur and ferningur formed?
If the sentence just said 'They are both blue' without mentioning the shapes, would it still use báðir bláir?
Only if both you and the listener already know you are referring specifically to masculine nouns like these shapes. If you are talking about a mixed-gender pair of objects, or just saying 'both' in a general, unspecified sense, you must use the neuter plural form: Þau eru bæði blá.
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