er til
Is There Any? (Er Til)
vera til means to exist or to be available: Er til mjólk? (Is there any milk?)
How It Works
Asking. vera til is the everyday way to ask whether something is there or in stock. In a question the verb comes first, as in all yes/no questions:
- Er til mjólk? (Is there any milk?)
- Eru til egg? (Are there any eggs?)
- Er þessi peysa til í stærri stærð? (Does this sweater come in a bigger size?)
Agreement. er goes with one thing or a mass noun, eru with a plural: Er til brauð? but Eru til bananar?
Answering yes. Start with the placeholder það so the verb stays second: Já, það er til mjólk. Já, það eru til egg. See það er/það eru. You can also use a pronoun: Já, hún er til (mjólk is feminine, so it is hún).
Answering no. Say it does not exist or has run out:
- Nei, það er ekki til mjólk. (No, there is no milk.)
- Nei, hún er búin. (No, it has run out.)
búinn works like an adjective and agrees with the noun: mjólkin er búin, kaffið er búið, eggin eru búin (adjective agreement).
To exist. The same phrase means "to exist": Draugar eru ekki til (Ghosts don't exist).
Examples (6)
- Er til mjólk?
Is there any milk?
Word by Word: Is to milk?
- Já, það er til mjólk í ísskápnum.
Yes, there is milk in the fridge.
Word by Word: Yes, it is to milk in the-fridge.
- Nei, hún er búin.
No, it has run out.
Word by Word: No, she is finished.
hún refers to mjólk, which is feminine. búin agrees with it.
- Eru til egg?
Are there any eggs?
Word by Word: Are to eggs?
egg is plural here, so the verb is eru.
- Er þessi peysa til í stærri stærð?
Does this sweater come in a bigger size?
Word by Word: Is this sweater to in bigger size?
- Draugar eru ekki til.
Ghosts don't exist.
Word by Word: Ghosts are not to.
Common Mistakes
Using er with a plural noun.
Er til egg?Eru til egg?The verb agrees with the thing you ask about. egg here means eggs, so use eru.
Leaving búinn in the wrong gender.
Nei, kaffið er búinn.Nei, kaffið er búið.kaffi is neuter, so búinn becomes búið. Use búin for feminine nouns and búnir, búnar or búin in the plural.
How It Connects
Learn This First
er til builds on yes/no questions.
Related Patterns
- það er / það eruThere Is and There Are
The same placeholder það starts a yes answer: Það er til mjólk.
Level 2 - Adjectives Agree With Nouns
búinn agrees with the noun when something has run out.
Level 1 - enginn / ekkertNo, Nobody and Nothing
Another way to say there is none: Það er engin mjólk.
Level 2 - veraTo Be (Vera)
vera til is built on the verb vera.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice er til in Bubblegum
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