Questions & Answers about Þau eru hér.
Þau is a third‑person plural pronoun meaning “they”.
It is grammatically neuter plural and is used:
- for groups of mixed gender (men + women, or people whose genders you don’t specify)
- for groups of neuter nouns (things, animals, etc.)
- increasingly, for groups of people when you want to be gender‑inclusive in general
So Þau eru hér = “They (that group) are here,” without saying they’re all male or all female.
These are all “they,” but with different grammatical genders:
- þeir – masculine plural “they”
- Used for groups that are all grammatically masculine, or where at least one masculine person “dominates” in traditional grammar (e.g. 1 man + 5 women → þeir in older usage).
- þær – feminine plural “they”
- Used for groups that are all grammatically feminine.
- þau – neuter plural “they”
- Used for mixed or unspecified groups, and for neuter nouns.
Modern speakers often prefer þau for mixed‑gender human groups, especially in more inclusive or neutral language.
Approximate pronunciations (not exact English, just close):
- Þau – IPA: [θœi̯]
- Þ / þ = [θ], like th in think, never like this.
- au = a diphthong; in many dialects it sounds a bit like saying “uh” + “ee” very quickly: uh-ee.
- hér – IPA: [çɛːr] (simplified)
- h before a front vowel is more like a soft “hy” sound.
- So hér is roughly like “hyair” (one syllable), with a slightly long vowel.
Audio is very helpful here, because Icelandic vowels and þ don’t match English perfectly.
Eru is the 3rd person plural present form of the verb vera (“to be”):
- ég er – I am
- þú ert – you (sg.) are
- hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
- við erum – we are
- þið eruð – you (pl.) are
- þeir / þær / þau eru – they are
So you use eru whenever the subject is plural (“they are,” “the houses are,” etc.).
Since Þau is plural, you must say Þau eru, not Þau er.
In Þau eru hér, Þau is in the nominative plural case:
- Subject of the sentence → nominative (Þau)
- Verb vera (“to be”) links the subject to a description or location; it doesn’t change the case of the subject.
With vera, both subject and any noun describing it (a “predicate noun”) are normally in the nominative:
- Þau eru nemendur. – They are students.
- Þau (nominative) = they
- nemendur (nominative plural) = students
Yes. Both are correct, but the emphasis is slightly different:
- Þau eru hér. – Neutral, simple statement: They are here.
- Hér eru þau. – Starts with hér (“here”), so it emphasizes the place:
- “Here is where they are,” “Here they are,” often used when you’ve just found them or are pointing them out.
Icelandic is mostly verb‑second (V2), so after the first element (subject, adverb, etc.), the verb usually comes next. Both sentences follow that rule:
- Þau (subject) – eru (verb) – hér (place)
- Hér (place) – eru (verb) – þau (subject)
Yes:
- hér – “here” in a slightly more formal or neutral style; common in writing, news, careful speech.
- hérna – “here” in colloquial, everyday speech; sounds more casual.
In many spoken contexts, you’d more naturally hear:
- Þau eru hérna. – They are (right) here.
Both are understood as “here” in the sense of being at or in this place (not moving towards it).
You replace hér (“here”) with þar (“there”):
- Þau eru þar. – They are there.
So the basic pattern is:
- hér – here
- þar – there
Both describe a location where something is, not movement.
Þau can refer to:
- People (mixed/unspecified gender groups):
- Þau eru hér. – They are here. (some people)
- Things or animals that are neuter plural grammatically:
- Húsin? Þau eru hér. – The houses? They are here.
- Lambin? Þau eru hér. – The lambs? They are here.
So it’s a general neuter plural “they,” not limited to humans.
You add ekki (“not”) after the verb eru:
- Þau eru ekki hér. – They are not here.
Word order pattern:
- Subject – Þau
- Verb – eru
- Negation – ekki
- Place – hér
You can also front the place for emphasis:
- Hér eru þau ekki. – Here they are not. (implies: they are somewhere else)