Learn Icelandic: Þessi spegill er stór og þessi litur er fallegur. - This mirror is big and this color is beautiful.

Þessi spegill er stór og þessi litur er fallegur.

This mirror is big and this color is beautiful.

Breakdown of Þessi spegill er stór og þessi litur er fallegur.

Questions & Answers about Þessi spegill er stór og þessi litur er fallegur.

Why do we use þessi for both 'mirror' and 'color'?

Both spegill (mirror) and litur (color) are masculine nouns. In Icelandic, the word for 'this' changes to match the gender of the noun. For both masculine and feminine nouns in the subject position (nominative case), the form is þessi.

When would we use the word þetta instead of þessi?

You use þetta when the noun you are talking about is neuter. For example, if you were talking about a house (hús), which is a neuter noun, you would say þetta hús. Because both nouns in our sentence are masculine, we use þessi.

I've learned that 'the mirror' is spegillinn. Why don't we say þessi spegillinn?

When you use a pointing word like þessi (this) right before a noun, you must use the basic, unattached form of the noun. That means you use the form without 'the' attached to the end. So it is always þessi spegill (this mirror), never þessi spegillinn.

Why does fallegur have an -ur ending, but stór doesn't, if they both describe masculine nouns?