Questions & Answers about Gott kvöld! Ég er svangur.
Why do we use gott here instead of góður?
In Icelandic, adjectives change their endings to match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for evening, kvöld, is a neuter noun. Therefore, the adjective for 'good' must take the neuter form, which is gott. Góður would be the masculine form.
I am a woman. Do I still say ég er svangur?
No, you would say ég er svöng. Adjectives that describe a person change to match that person's gender. Svangur is the masculine form, used if a man or a male-identifying person is speaking. Svöng is the feminine form.
Are Gott kvöld and Góða kvöldið exactly the same thing?
They are very similar greetings, but Gott kvöld simply means 'Good evening,' whereas Góða kvöldið translates literally to 'The good evening.' Góða kvöldið is the most common, polite way to say 'Good evening' when greeting someone, but both are perfectly correct and used often.
Does the verb er change if I want to say 'you are' instead of 'I am'?
Yes. The verb vera (to be) changes depending on the pronoun. While it is ég er (I am) and also hann/hún/það er (he/she/it is), you would use þú ert for 'you are'.