Breakdown of Strákurinn og maðurinn eru mjög glaðir.
vera
to be
og
and
strákurinn
the boy
maðurinn
the man
mjög
very
glaður
glad
Questions & Answers about Strákurinn og maðurinn eru mjög glaðir.
Why is the verb eru used here when strákurinn and maðurinn are singular nouns?
Even though "the boy" and "the man" are singular individually, together they form a plural subject. Therefore, we use eru, which is the plural form of the verb vera (to be) for "they are".
If I wanted to replace Strákurinn og maðurinn with a pronoun, which one would I use?
You would use þeir (they). In Icelandic, there are different words for "they" depending on gender. Because both strákurinn (the boy) and maðurinn (the man) are masculine nouns, you use the masculine plural pronoun þeir.
Why does the adjective glaðir end in -ir instead of just being glaður?
Adjectives in Icelandic must match the nouns they describe. Because the subject (the boy and the man) is masculine and plural, the adjective must also be masculine and plural. Glaðir is the masculine plural form of the basic adjective glaður (glad/happy).
I see -inn at the end of both strákurinn and maðurinn. Is this a coincidence?
No, that is the Icelandic way of saying "the"! Instead of using a separate word before the noun, the definite article is attached to the end. The -inn ending is used for masculine, singular subjects, turning strákur (a boy) into strákurinn (the boy) and maður (a man) into maðurinn (the man).
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