Questions & Answers about Vá, þetta er flott hús!
Why do we use the strong adjective flott instead of the weak flotta? Didn't we learn that þetta triggers weak adjectives?
We only use the weak adjective when þetta acts as a determiner pointing directly to a specific noun, like in þetta flotta hús (this great house). In our sentence, þetta is the subject and flott hús is the predicate: 'This is a great house'. Because 'a great house' is indefinite, the adjective takes the strong neuter ending.
Would we still start with þetta if the noun was a masculine word like bíll (car)?
Yes! When you introduce something with the phrase 'This is...', you always use the neuter pronoun þetta as a dummy subject, regardless of the gender of the noun that follows. So 'This is a great car' would be Þetta er flottur bíll, where þetta stays neuter but the adjective flottur changes to match the masculine noun.
I often see flottur translated as 'cool' or 'good-looking'. Is it standard to use it for a house?
Definitely. Flottur is an extremely common and versatile adjective in Icelandic. While it can mean 'handsome' for a person or 'chic' for clothing, it is used everyday to describe anything impressive, beautiful, or well-done. Describing a house as flott just means it looks great.