Learn Icelandic: Hér er einn bíll.

Hér er einn bíll.

Here is one car.

Breakdown of Hér er einn bíll.

Questions & Answers about Hér er einn bíll.

Why is the word for "one" einn here?

In Icelandic, the numbers 1 through 4 change to match the gender of the noun they are describing. Because bíll (car) is a masculine word, we use the masculine form einn. If we were counting neuter nouns, we would use eitt.

If I am just counting "one, two, three" out loud, do I use einn?

No. When you are just counting numbers out loud without pointing to specific objects, you normally use the neuter forms: eitt, tvö, þrjú. You only use einn when you are specifically referring to a masculine object like bíll.

The word order here matches English exactly. Is that always the case?

In simple sentences starting with words like hér (here), the word order often looks just like English. This happens because Icelandic has a "verb-second" rule, meaning the verb (er) must be the second piece of information in the sentence, right after hér.

How do I pronounce the double L in bíll?

In Icelandic, a double L is usually pronounced with a slight "d" or "t" click before the L sound. Because of this, bíll sounds a bit like "beedl" to an English speaker.