Breakdown of Þessi jakki er svartur og þessi skyrta er hvít.
vera
to be
og
and
jakkinn
the jacket
skyrtan
the shirt
svartur
black
hvítur
white
þessi
this (m/f)
Questions & Answers about Þessi jakki er svartur og þessi skyrta er hvít.
Why does the word þessi look exactly the same before jakki and skyrta?
The word for "this" changes depending on the gender of the noun it points to. However, in the basic subject form (nominative case), the masculine form and the feminine form are actually identical: þessi. Since jakki (jacket) is masculine and skyrta (shirt) is feminine, they both use þessi. If it were a neuter noun, you would use þetta instead.
Why do the adjectives for the colors end differently (svartur vs hvít)?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because jakki is masculine, the adjective for black takes the masculine ending -ur to become svartur. Because skyrta is feminine, the adjective for white takes the feminine form, which happens to be just the base word hvít with no extra ending.
Since we are talking about a specific jacket, should I add the "the" ending to jakki?
No, you leave the noun in its basic, indefinite form. When you use a demonstrative pronoun like þessi, it already makes the noun specific enough. So, "this jacket" is just þessi jakki. You do not attach the definite article to make it þessi jakkinn.
How do you pronounce the "hv" at the start of hvít?
In Icelandic, the letter combination hv is pronounced like a "kv" sound. So the word hvít sounds very much like "kveet".
Learn Þessi jakki er svartur og þessi skyrta er hvít and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free