Breakdown of Þessi stóri kastali er mjög tómur.
vera
to be
stór
big
mjög
very
þessi
this (m/f)
tómur
empty
kastalinn
the castle
Questions & Answers about Þessi stóri kastali er mjög tómur.
Why do we use stóri instead of the dictionary form stór?
Because of the word Þessi (this). Demonstrative words like "this" or "that" trigger the weak declension for adjectives. For masculine singular nouns in the nominative case like kastali, the weak adjective ending is -i, making it stóri.
Since Þessi makes adjectives weak, why isn't tómur (empty) also weak?
Tómur comes after the verb er (is) to describe the castle, which makes it a predicative adjective. Because it stands alone after the verb and isn't bundled directly inside the noun phrase Þessi stóri kastali, it isn't triggered by Þessi. Instead, it takes the standard strong declension.
Both stóri and kastali end in -i. Is that for the same reason?
It looks like a matching pattern, but they are actually following different rules! Kastali is a weak masculine noun, meaning its base dictionary form just naturally ends in -i. Stóri, on the other hand, gets its -i ending added specifically because it is an adjective reacting to the word Þessi.
Does Þessi change depending on the gender of the noun?
Yes, it must agree with the noun's gender. In the nominative case, Þessi is used for both masculine nouns (like kastali) and feminine nouns. If the noun were neuter, you would have to use Þetta instead.
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