Ég á nýja skó og nýja sokka.

I have new shoes and new socks.

Breakdown of Ég á nýja skó og nýja sokka.

• ég: I
• eiga: to have
• nýr: new
• og: and
• skórinn: the shoe
• sokkurinn: the sock

Questions & Answers about Ég á nýja skó og nýja sokka.

What is the verb á here, and is it the same as the preposition á (“on/at”)?

In this sentence, á is the verb from að eiga = “to have / to own.”

• Ég á = “I have.”
• It is not the preposition á (“on, at, in”), even though they look the same in writing.
• You can tell it is a verb because it comes right after the subject Ég and is followed by objects (nýja skó og nýja sokka).

So here Ég á means “I have.”

Why are the adjectives nýja and not nýr, nýir, or something else?

The base form of the adjective is nýr (“new”), but it changes form to match:

• gender
• number (singular/plural)
• case

In nýja skó and nýja sokka:

• skór (“shoe”) and sokkur (“sock”) are masculine nouns.
• They are both plural (shoes, socks).
• They are in the accusative case, because they are direct objects of the verb að eiga.

For nýr in masculine accusative plural (strong declension), the correct form is nýja.

So nýja here = “new” matching masculine + plural + accusative for both skó and sokka.

Why are skó and sokka in that form? How do those plurals work?

Both words are masculine nouns, but they form the plural a bit differently.

1. skór (“shoe”) – a slightly irregular noun

   • Singular nominative: skór (a shoe)
   • Singular accusative: skó
   • Plural nominative: skór (shoes)
   • Plural accusative: skó

   So skó can be accusative singular or accusative plural. In this sentence, context (and the parallel with sokka) makes it plural: “shoes.”

2. sokkur (“sock”) – a regular strong masculine noun

   • Singular nominative: sokkur
   • Singular accusative: sokk
   • Plural nominative: sokkar (socks)
   • Plural accusative: sokka

Because eiga (“to have”) takes its object in the accusative, we get:

• nýja skó = new shoes (accusative plural)
• nýja sokka = new socks (accusative plural)

Why are the objects in the accusative case? Can I think of a rule?

Yes. A simple rule:

• Direct objects of að eiga (“to have”) are in the accusative case.

So in:

• Ég á nýja skó. – “I have new shoes.”
• Ég á nýja sokka. – “I have new socks.”

Both skó and sokka are direct objects, so they go into the accusative, and the adjective nýr also changes to nýja to match that case.

Why is nýja repeated before sokka? Could I just say Ég á nýja skó og sokka?

You can say Ég á nýja skó og sokka, and it will usually be understood that both are new.

However:

• Repeating the adjective (nýja skó og nýja sokka) makes it very clear that each noun has that quality.
• Icelandic often repeats the adjective in careful or slightly more formal speech.
• In fast or casual speech, people may drop the second nýja, especially if the meaning is obvious from context.

So both are possible, but the sentence you have is the clearest: each group (shoes, socks) is definitely new.

Why is there no word for “some” or “any” like in English “I have some new shoes…”?

Icelandic usually does not need a word like “some” in this kind of sentence.

• Ég á nýja skó og nýja sokka.
  Literally: “I have new shoes and new socks.”

In English we often add “some”:

• “I have some new shoes and some new socks.”

In Icelandic, the plural, without an article, already gives that indefinite “some” feeling, so nothing extra is needed.

How would I say “I have the new shoes and the new socks” with definiteness?

Icelandic usually marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun, not with a separate word like “the.”

For your sentence:

• Ég á nýju skónna og nýju sokkana. (one common version)

Here:

• skór → skórnir → skónna (definite, accusative plural)
• sokkur → sokkarnir → sokkana (definite, accusative plural)
• The adjective also changes to a definite form (nýju) to match.

Learner takeaway:

• Indefinite “new shoes/socks” → nýja skó / nýja sokka
• Definite “the new shoes/socks” → nýju skónna / nýju sokkana

Why is Ég capitalized? Is “I” always capitalized in Icelandic like in English?

Ég is capitalized here only because it is the first word of the sentence.

• The pronoun ég (“I”) is not normally capitalized in Icelandic.
• In the middle of a sentence, you would write ég, not Ég, for example:
  
  • Þú veist að ég á nýja skó. – “You know that I have new shoes.”

So, unlike English, Icelandic does not always capitalize the word for “I.”

How do you pronounce Ég á nýja skó og nýja sokka?

A rough guide using English-like sounds (this is approximate):

• Ég ≈ “yeg” or short “yeh” with a soft g (often almost disappears)
• á ≈ “ow” in “cow” (a long, clear diphthong)
• nýja ≈ “NEE-ya” (with a long ý like “ee”)
• skó ≈ “skoh” (long “o”)
• og is often pronounced more like “ok” or “og” with a soft g, depending on dialect/speed
• sokka ≈ “SOK-ka” (short o like in “sock,” double k, then “a” as in “father”)

Very roughly: “Yeh ow NEE-ya skoh og NEE-ya SOK-ka.”

What is the difference between using á and er með when talking about having things?

Both can translate as “have,” but they’re not identical:

• Ég á nýja skó.

  • Literally: “I own new shoes.”
  • Suggests possession/ownership. They belong to you.

• Ég er með nýja skó.

  • Literally: “I am with new shoes.”
  • Often implies you have them with you right now (on you, on your feet, in your bag).

In many everyday situations both may be possible, but:

• á = more about owning something.
• er með = more about having something with you / on you at this moment.

How would I change the sentence if I only had one new shoe and one new sock?

Then you need singular accusative forms for both the nouns and the adjective:

• Ég á nýjan skó og nýjan sokk.
  
  • nýjan = masculine singular accusative of nýr
  • skó = accusative singular of skór
  • sokk = accusative singular of sokkur

So:

• plural: nýja skó og nýja sokka – “new shoes and new socks”
• singular: nýjan skó og nýjan sokk – “a new shoe and a new sock.”