lýsingarorðformi

Lýsingarorðformi refers to the various inflectional forms of adjectives in the Icelandic language. Icelandic adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and definiteness, and their forms also depend on case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). The primary adjective forms are the positive (basic) form, the comparative form, and the superlative form. Each of these can further split into indefinite and definite versions. For example, the positive indefinite nominative singular masculine of the adjective “stór” (big) is “stórur”, while the definite version is “stórið”. The comparative of “stór” is “störri” (in the same two forms), and the superlative is “stórsta” (also with the same gender and definiteness distinctions).

Adjective endings also signal definite articles, with endings such as -i for masculine, -ir for feminine, and -ur for neuter in the nominative singular. In plural and in other cases, the endings differ accordingly. Icelandic therefore requires speakers to master a set of adjective paradigms to keep agreement consistent across sentences.

In literary and everyday usage, correct adjective forms are essential for clear and grammatically sound communication. Errors in adjective inflection can lead to misunderstandings or humorous malapropisms. In teaching Icelandic as a second language, learners often practice by conjugating adjectives across all gender, number, definiteness, and case combinations.