Questions & Answers about Þetta er bíll og bíllinn er hér.
Why do we use the neuter word Þetta when bíll is a masculine noun?
When introducing or pointing out something new with the phrase "This is...", Icelandic always uses the fixed neuter form Þetta er, no matter the gender of the noun that follows.
Why does the first half use bíll and the second half use bíllinn?
Bíll is the bare form of the noun, meaning "a car". Because Icelandic doesn't have a separate word for "a" or "an", you just use the base noun. In the second half, the suffix -inn is attached to the end of the word to mean "the car".
How do we know to add -inn to bíll instead of -in or -ið?
Does the double 'l' in bíll affect how it is pronounced?
Yes! In Icelandic, a double 'l' usually makes a soft click sound on the sides of your tongue, sounding a bit like "tl" or "dl" in English. So bíll sounds roughly like "beetl". You keep this same sound when saying bíllinn.