Adjectives in -legur

Level 4

Þetta er skemmtileg bók. (This is a fun book.) Hún syngur fallega. (She sings beautifully.)

How It Works

Everyday -legur adjectives.

  • fallegur (beautiful)
  • skemmtilegur (fun), from skemmta (entertain)
  • leiðinlegur (boring)
  • vinalegur (friendly), from vinur (friend)
  • venjulegur (normal, usual), from venja (habit)
  • þægilegur (comfortable)
  • nauðsynlegur (necessary)
  • hræðilegur (terrible), from hræða (frighten)

Forms. Strong forms: skemmtilegur maður, skemmtileg bók, skemmtilegt kvöld. Weak forms, with the article: skemmtilegi maðurinn, skemmtilega bókin. See strong adjective declension and weak adjective declension.

Comparison. Add endings; do not put meira in front: skemmtilegur, skemmtilegri, skemmtilegastur. Þessi mynd er skemmtilegri en hin. (This film is more fun than the other one.) See comparative.

The adverb in -lega. Drop -ur and add -a: fallega (beautifully), rólega (calmly), venjulega (usually), eiginlega (actually). Keep the neuter adjective and the adverb apart: Þetta er fallegt. (This is beautiful.) but Hún syngur fallega. (She sings beautifully.) See adverbs.

Opposites. Many -legur adjectives take ó-: óþægilegur (uncomfortable), óvenjulegur (unusual). For more endings like this, see adjective suffixes.

Examples (6)

  1. Þetta er skemmtileg bók.

    This is a fun book.

    Word by Word: This is fun book.

    bók is feminine, so the adjective is skemmtileg.

  2. Hún býr í fallegu húsi.

    She lives in a beautiful house.

    Word by Word: She lives in beautiful house (dative).

  3. Starfsfólkið var mjög vinalegt.

    The staff were very friendly.

    Word by Word: The staff was very friendly.

    starfsfólk is a neuter singular noun, so vinalegt is neuter.

  4. Veðrið var hræðilegt í gær.

    The weather was terrible yesterday.

    Word by Word: The weather was terrible yesterday.

  5. Ég vakna venjulega klukkan sjö.

    I usually wake up at seven.

    Word by Word: I wake usually clock seven.

    venjulega is the adverb of venjulegur.

  6. Þessi mynd er skemmtilegri en hin.

    This film is more fun than the other one.

    Word by Word: This film is funner than the other.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the neuter adjective instead of the adverb.

    Hún syngur fallegt.
    Hún syngur fallega.

    To say how something is done, use the adverb in -lega. fallegt describes a thing: Þetta er fallegt.

  • Using meira for the comparative.

    Þessi mynd er meira skemmtileg en hin.
    Þessi mynd er skemmtilegri en hin.

    -legur adjectives compare with endings: skemmtilegri, skemmtilegastur.

How It Connects

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Adjectives in -legurLevel 4

Learn This First

-legur builds on strong adjectives and adverbs.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-legur-lega