Ég á vin.

I have a friend.

Breakdown of Ég á vin.

• ég: I
• eiga: to have
• vinur: the friend

Questions & Answers about Ég á vin.

Why is there no article before vin?

In Icelandic, there is no indefinite article (like a or an in English). Therefore, you simply say Ég á vin instead of something like Ég á einn vin. While you can add einn (meaning one) for emphasis, the basic statement doesn't need it.

Why does the verb á mean have here, instead of using a different verb?

The Icelandic verb eiga (conjugated as á in the first-person singular present tense) can carry the meaning of to have or to own/possess. So Ég á translates to I have in this sentence.

Why is vin used instead of vinur?

Vinur is the nominative case (the basic dictionary form), but vin is the accusative form. After á, which often takes a direct object, the noun vinur changes to vin.

Can I change the word order to Vin á ég?

You can grammatically reverse the word order in some contexts in Icelandic to emphasize certain parts of the sentence. However, Ég á vin is the typical, natural order. Vin á ég would sound more poetic or stylized, and in everyday speech it’s more common to keep the subject (ég) first.