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Questions & Answers about Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te á kvöldin.
What does the pair "hvorki ... né" do here?
hvorki ... né means “neither … nor.” It links two like elements—in this sentence, the objects kaffi and te—and negates both at once. The verb stays in its normal (affirmative) form: Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te = She drinks neither coffee nor tea.
Do I also need to add "ekki" (not)?
No. Don’t add ekki with hvorki … né. Saying Hún drekkur ekki hvorki kaffi né te is ungrammatical/redundant. Use either:
- Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te… (neither…nor), or
- Hún drekkur ekki kaffi eða te… (doesn’t drink coffee or tea).
Can I use "eða" (or) instead of "né"?
Not with hvorki. The pair is fixed: hvorki … né.
- Correct: Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te.
- Incorrect: Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi eða te.
With ekki, you use eða: Hún drekkur ekki kaffi eða te.
Why is it "á kvöldin," and what does the -in ending mean?
á kvöldin literally means “on the evenings.” kvöldin is the definite plural of kvöld (evening/night), and with á it forms a set time expression meaning “in the evenings” (habitually). Compare:
- á kvöldin = in the evenings (as a routine)
- á kvöldinu = on the (particular) evening (specific)
- í kvöld = tonight (this evening)
Where can I place the time phrase "á kvöldin"?
It’s flexible. Keep main-clause verb-second word order:
- Á kvöldin drekkur hún hvorki kaffi né te.
- Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te á kvöldin. (original) Both are natural. Try not to split hvorki … né with other material unless you have a reason.
What case are "kaffi" and "te" in?
They’re (accusative) direct objects of drekka. Both kaffi and te are neuter mass nouns whose nominative and accusative singular look the same, so you don’t see a visible case ending here. There’s no indefinite article in Icelandic, so bare nouns cover “coffee/tea” (some/any coffee/tea). “The coffee/tea” would be kaffið/teið.
Why is it "drekkur" and not "drekk"?
It’s 3rd person singular present of að drekka (to drink). Mini-paradigm:
- Present: ég drekk, þú drekkur, hún/hann drekkur, við drekkum, þið drekkið, þeir drekka
- Past: ég drakk, við drukkum
- Past participle: drukkið
How do I pronounce the tricky bits?
- Hún: ú like “oo” in “food,” long.
- drekkur: kk is a long, strongly aspirated k (somewhat like “k” + breathy “h”); final -ur has a short, rounded vowel [ʏ].
- hvorki: hv is pronounced like kv.
- né: sounds like “nyeh” with a long “eh.”
- á (in á kvöldin): like “ow” in “cow.” Stress is on the first syllable: HÚN, DREK-kur, HVOR-ki, KVÖL-din.
Are the accent marks just stress marks?
No. The acute accents mark different vowel letters (e.g., u/ú, a/á). They change vowel quality/length, not stress. Primary stress in Icelandic is almost always on the first syllable.
Can I list more than two items with "né"?
Yes. Only the first item takes hvorki, the rest take né:
- Hún drekkur hvorki kaffi né te né gos. (She drinks neither coffee nor tea nor soda.)
How do I use "hvorki … né" with verbs instead of nouns?
Place hvorki before the first verb:
- Hún hvorki drekkur né borðar á kvöldin. (She neither drinks nor eats in the evenings.) You can also front the time phrase and keep the same pattern:
- Á kvöldin hvorki drekkur hún né borðar.
What’s the difference between "á kvöldin," "í kvöld," and "um kvöldin"?
- á kvöldin: in the evenings (habitual)
- í kvöld: tonight (this evening)
- um kvöldin: during/around the evenings (also habitual; a bit more “during/around” in feel).
All are common; á kvöldin is the default for routines.
Why "Hún" and not "Hana" or "Henni"?
Because it’s the subject in the nominative case: Hún = she (nom.).
- Accusative (object): hana
- Dative (indirect object): henni
- Genitive: hennar
Here, as the subject of drekkur, the correct form is Hún.
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