Adjectives Without the Article

Level 3

With no article, the adjective takes strong endings that change with the case: góður maður, Ég á góðan vin, í stóru húsi.

How It Works

Singular (masculine · feminine · neuter), with góður (good)

  • Nominative: góður · góð · gott
  • Accusative: góðan · góða · gott
  • Dative: góðum · góðri · góðu
  • Genitive: góðs · góðrar · góðs

Plural (masculine · feminine · neuter)

  • Nominative: góðir · góðar · góð
  • Accusative: góða · góðar · góð
  • Dative: góðum (all genders)
  • Genitive: góðra (all genders)

When to use strong endings

  • Before a noun without the article: Ég á góðan vin. (I have a good friend.)
  • After vera or verða, even when the noun has the article: Maðurinn er góður. (The man is kind.)

When the noun has the article, the adjective in front of it switches to the weak endings: góði maðurinn. See Adjectives Before a Definite Noun.

Small spelling changes
Some adjectives change a little in the neuter: góður → gott, nýr → nýtt, rauður → rautt. nýr adds a j before an ending that starts with a or u: nýjan, nýjum, nýja, but nýir. For gamall and lítill, see Adjectives Like Lítill and Gamall.

Examples (6)

  1. Hann er góður maður.

    He is a good man.

    Word by Word: He is good man.

  2. Ég á góðan vin.

    I have a good friend.

    Word by Word: I own good friend.

    vin is the accusative object, so góður becomes góðan.

  3. Við búum í stóru húsi.

    We live in a big house.

    Word by Word: We live in big house.

    í shows location here, so hús is dative (húsi) and stór becomes stóru.

  4. Hún keypti nýja tölvu.

    She bought a new computer.

    Word by Word: She bought new computer.

  5. Ég fékk bréf frá góðri vinkonu.

    I got a letter from a good friend.

    Word by Word: I got letter from good friend.

    frá takes the dative. vinkona is feminine, so the form is góðri.

  6. Hér eru margir íslenskir hestar.

    There are many Icelandic horses here.

    Word by Word: Here are many Icelandic horses.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the adjective and noun in the nominative.

    Ég á góður vinur.
    Ég á góðan vin.

    The object of eiga is accusative. Both words change: góðan vin.

  • Forgetting the dative after í for location.

    Við búum í stór hús.
    Við búum í stóru húsi.

    Location after í takes the dative, and the adjective follows: stóru húsi.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Adjectives Without the ArticleLevel 3

Learn This First

Strong adjective endings build on agreement and all four cases.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.