# Icelandic: Hverjir / núna



## Alxmrphi

I'm going through Háskoli Islands' lessons, and just needed to figure some stuff out. Here is the text:




> *Bettina*: Sæl, ert þú leiðsögumaður?
> *Helga*: Komið þið sæl. Já, ég er leiðsögumaður.
> ............Ég heiti Helga. Við ætlum að skoða Reykjavík *núna*. *Hverjir* fara með mér.
> *Bettina*: Sæl,  *ég fer með*! Ég heiti Bettina. Ég er frá Þýskalandi. *Og við erum tvö **hérna*.


I have a few questions on the text, so maybe it's best if I just list them:

1) *hér(na)* and *nú(na)* - I've tried searching and putting off learning when to use these, and I cheated and flicked to the end of my book and couldn't find an explanation (I was expecting one) so I just, for once and for all try to figure out when you use it without the *-na* ending and when to use it, I can't see a pattern, any comments / help would be greatly appreciated.

2) I can't find "*Hverjir*", what I can guess it means by the context is "*Who wants to go with me?*" is that right, I know "*hver*" means '*who*', I just don't know what the '*jir*' thing is about.

3) *ég fer með!* - this means "*I'm going with *(you)*!*", right?

4) *Og við erum tvö hérna* - "And we are two here", this confuses me in a few ways, because it's *sæl* all the way through, this means all females, right, cos otherwise it would be *sæll*, no? So I don't understand why the neuter version is used (_why *tvö* and not *tvær*_?)
And the last thing about this, is the meaning, is it "And us two here", in an agreement with Helga about who is going, sort of like "*I am going*", "*Us two!*" or does it have a more independant meaning. 

Takk.
Alex.


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## dinji

Alex_Murphy said:


> I'm going through Háskoli Islands' lessons, and just needed to figure some stuff out. Here is the text:
> 
> I have a few questions on the text, so maybe it's best if I just list them:
> .
> .
> 4) *Og við erum tvö hérna* - "And we are two here", this confuses me in a few ways, because it's *sæl* all the way through, this means all females, right, cos otherwise it would be *sæll*, no? So I don't understand why the neuter version is used (_why *tvö* and not *tvær*_?)
> And the last thing about this, is the meaning, is it "And us two here", in an agreement with Helga about who is going, sort of like "*I am going*", "*Us two!*" or does it have a more independant meaning.
> 
> Takk.
> Alex.


Since Helga says "Komið þið sæl" she is talking in plural, not singular, and also here the form "sæl" must therefore be neuter plural rather than feminine singular, right?


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## Alxmrphi

I've just checked... *sæl* here is neuter plural (it has the same form as feminine singular), this explains why* tvö* is used at the end, because there is a mixture of males and females.

Yay, one problem solved!


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## butra

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> 2) I can't find "*Hverjir*", what I can guess it means by the context is "*Who wants to go with me?*" is that right, I know "*hver*" means '*who*', I just don't know what the '*jir*' thing is about.


 
masc sing:

nom hver
acc hvern
dat hverjum
gen hvers

masc plur:

nom hverjir
acc hverja
dat hverjum
gen hverra


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## butra

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> 3) *ég fer með!* - this means "*I'm going with *(you)*!*", right?


 
right!


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## Alxmrphi

butra said:


> *masc sing*:
> nom hver
> acc hvern
> dat hverjum
> gen hvers



hver - *hver er að fara í lystigarðinn*? (Who is going to the park?)
hvern - *þú skildir ekki hvern*? (You didn't understand *who*?) (I don't think this is correct, but I can't think of another way to use 'hvern')
hverjum - *hverjum ertu að gefa gjöf*? (Who are you giving a present to?) (if I wanted to say 'the present', would it be* gjöfinni* or *gjöfin*?)
hvers - *Hvers kartafla er þetta*? (Whose potato is this?) (as it's genitive of 'hver' does that mean I need to make it *kartöflu*, the genitive of *kartafla*?)

I just want to make sure I understand how it's used when it's declined, so I thought

hver - nom = (*who* as subject)
hvern - acc = (*who* as direct object)
hverjum - dat = (*who* as indirect object)
hvers - gen = (*who* as possessive pronoun _(whose)_)

Is that the right thinking? I know the Icelandic will be wrong, but I thought I would try it.

I'm also a little confused about the position, if it needs to go at the front or the end of the sentence, I hope I've got it right (position + general idea of how to use it)

Any help would be amazing!


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## butra

All correct!

hvern - þú skildir ekki hvern? (You didn't understand who?) (I don't think this is correct, but I can't think of another way to use 'hvern')

Grammatically correct but most often you would say: Hvern skildir þú ekki? (Who didn’t you understand?)


hverjum - hverjum ertu að gefa gjöf? (Who are you giving a present to?) (if I wanted to say 'the present', would it be gjöfinni or gjöfin?)

To give somebody something: Að gefa einhverjum eitthvað. Gefa dat acc. Hverjum ertu að gefa gjöfina? 


hvers - Hvers kartafla er þetta? (Whose potato is this?) (as it's genitive of 'hver' does that mean I need to make it kartöflu, the genitive of kartafla?)

No! Kartafla must be in the nominative case because of the verb að vera (er). 


hvers - gen = (who as possessive pronoun _(whose)_)

hvers is as you say the gen of hver so it’s still the interrogative pronoun hver even though it is used as a possessive pronoun.


I know the Icelandic will be wrong, but I thought I would try it.

You are wrong! You are right! If you know what I mean.


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## Alxmrphi

Wow I'm really happy
I do know what you mean, I am wrong about being wrong, because I was right! 

Takk kærlega! Sjáumst!



> hvers - gen = (who as possessive pronoun _(whose)_)
> hvers is as you say the gen of hver *so it’s still the interrogative pronoun hver even though it is used as a possessive pronoun*.



Also, when you said this, did you mean it translates 'whose', like I used it, but it's also the genitive of 'who', like this following example:

*Who* does the pen belong to? (_*Whose* is this pen?_)


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## butra

You are right!


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## Alxmrphi

Sorry to harass but this is my last question on this (I hope) :

When we say 'who' in English, it doesn't really imply a gender, but in Icelandic it looks like it does, so does that mean something like:

Hverri ertu að gefa gjöfina?


1) Does this mean "who" but implies '*what woman/girl* did you give it to' ?

2) If a distinction is made, then what about if you just don't know, is it automatically the masculine or the neuter?

3) If it's the masculine, then when do you use the neuter, if it's the neuter, then do you only use the masculine when you want to ask *who *like '*what man/boy*' ?


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## butra

If it’s a female you say hverri (fem). If you don´t know you use hverjum (masc). The neuter form is rather complicated for me to explain. I’ll have to give it some thought.


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## Alxmrphi

That's ok, if it's complicated for you I don't want to know (just yet! )
The only reason I wanted to know was for the original question...

Because there was a mixture of males and females (*Og við erum tvö hérna*)But when the guide says "*Hverjir fara.*." it's masculine (to mean a mix of males and females) it didn't match so I just wanted to make sure.

But as long as I know for mixed etc it's masculine for 'hver', but when talking in numbers it does reflect the gender of the people (*við erum tveir* for males, *við erum tvær* for females,* við erum tvö* for a mix, then I'm happy just understanding that!)

*Hverjir* eruð þið? (Who are you?)
Ég heiti Björn og vinkona mín heitir Helga. (I'm Björn and my friend is called Helga)
.. Við erum *tvö*.... (We are two........)

As long as I've understood that I'm happy.


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## butra

As I said, this is rather complicated because if you asked Who are you (plural)? And you didn’t know the gender of the people you were talking to you would say Hver eruð þið? if you expect them to be both males and females.
You could also say Hverjir eruð þið? Because afterwards when you realize that there are women around you can always say: I thought there were no women her. (You don’t have to say it. You don’t have to excuse yourself.) But don’t be frustrated. I haven’t figured out why it is like that. I just happen to know! I don’t have a PhD.


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