Breakdown of Þessi blýantur er nýr og þessi saga er skemmtileg.
vera
to be
og
and
nýr
new
skemmtilegur
fun
þessi
this (m/f)
blýanturinn
the pencil
sagan
the story
Questions & Answers about Þessi blýantur er nýr og þessi saga er skemmtileg.
Why is the word for 'this' exactly the same (þessi) for both a pencil and a story?
The word for 'this' changes based on the gender of the noun. However, in the nominative (subject) form, the masculine and feminine versions are identical! Since blýantur is masculine and saga is feminine, they both use þessi. If either noun were neuter, we would use þetta instead.
Why does 'new' (nýr) have an -r at the end, but 'fun' (skemmtileg) does not?
Adjectives in Icelandic change to match the gender of the noun they describe. Blýantur (pencil) is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine adjective form, which usually ends in -r (nýr). Saga (story) is a feminine noun, and feminine adjectives typically drop that -r ending (skemmtileg).
How can I tell from the words themselves that blýantur is masculine and saga is feminine?
The word endings are your best clues! Nouns ending in -ur like blýantur are very often masculine. Nouns ending in -a like saga are almost always feminine. The adjectives (nýr and skemmtileg) taking different endings to match those genders confirm it.
If I wanted to say 'This is a new pencil' instead of 'This pencil is new', would I still use þessi?
No, that is a tricky but important difference! When you say 'This is...', you are pointing something out generally without attaching the word 'this' directly to the noun. For that, you use the default neuter form þetta (Þetta er nýr blýantur). You only use þessi when 'this' is attached directly to the noun, exactly like in our sentence: 'This pencil is...' (Þessi blýantur er...).
Learn Þessi blýantur er nýr og þessi saga er skemmtileg 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