Ég á líka dóttur.

I also have a daughter.

Breakdown of Ég á líka dóttur.

• ég: I
• eiga: to have
• líka: also
• dóttir: the daughter

Questions & Answers about Ég á líka dóttur.

What exactly does á mean here? I thought á meant “on”.

In this sentence á is not the preposition “on”; it is the verb form of að eiga – “to have/own”.

• Ég á = I have / I own
• The preposition á (“on, at”) is a different word, even though it looks the same in writing.
  So here Ég á líka dóttur means “I also have a daughter”, not “I am also on daughter”.

Why is it dóttur and not dóttir?

Icelandic changes noun endings according to case.

• dóttir is the nominative form (the basic dictionary form, used for subjects).
• After the verb að eiga (“to have”), the thing you have is normally in the accusative case.

The accusative singular of dóttir is dóttur, so:

• Nominative: Ég á ein dóttir. (not used here)
• Accusative: Ég á líka dóttur. ✅

Where is the word for “a” in “a daughter”? Why isn’t there an article?

Icelandic has no indefinite article like English a / an.

• dóttir / dóttur can mean either “daughter” or “a daughter”, depending on context.
  So Ég á líka dóttur naturally translates as “I also have a daughter.”

What does líka mean, and why is it in the middle of the sentence?

líka means “also, too, as well”.

In neutral word order, Icelandic tends to put common adverbs (like líka, ekki, etc.) after the verb:

• Ég á líka dóttur. = I also have a daughter.

You will most often see subject – verb – adverb – object in simple statements like this.

Could I say Ég líka á dóttur or Ég á dóttur líka?

• Ég líka á dóttur is ungrammatical; adverbs like líka do not normally go between the subject and the verb.
• Ég á dóttur líka is possible, but it usually puts a bit more emphasis on dóttur (as in “I have a daughter as well [as something else]”).

The most neutral and common version is Ég á líka dóttur.

What is the basic verb form of á, and how is it conjugated?

The infinitive (dictionary form) is að eiga (“to have, to own”).

Present tense (singular):

• Ég á – I have
• Þú átt – You (sg.) have
• Hann/Hún/Það á – He/She/It has

Present tense (plural):

• Við eigum – We have
• Þið eigið – You (pl.) have
• Þeir/Þær/Þau eiga – They have

Is Ég necessary, or can you drop it like in some other languages?

You generally must use subject pronouns in Icelandic.

So:

• Ég á líka dóttur. ✅
• Á líka dóttur. ❌ (feels incomplete/wrong in normal speech)

Icelandic is not a “null-subject” language like Spanish or Italian; you don’t usually omit Ég.

How do you pronounce Ég á líka dóttur?

Approximate pronunciation for English speakers:

• Ég ≈ “Yehg” (short “yeh” + a soft voiced gh sound at the end)
• á ≈ “ow” (like in “cow”)
• líka ≈ “LEE-ka” (stress on the first syllable)
• dóttur ≈ “DOH-htur” (with a little puff of air in -tt-, similar to saying “dot-hur” quickly)

In IPA (one common pronunciation): [jɛiːɣ au ˈliːka ˈtouhtʏr].
Stress is on Ég, lí-, and dót-.

What gender is dóttir, and what is the plural?

dóttir is feminine. Its plural form is irregular:

Singular:

• Nom: dóttir – a daughter
• Acc: dóttur
• Dat: dóttur
• Gen: dóttur

Plural:

• Nom: dætur – daughters
• Acc: dætur
• Dat: dætrum
• Gen: dætra

So Ég á tvær dætur = I have two daughters.

How would I say “I don’t have a daughter”?

You add ekki (“not”) after the verb:

• Ég á ekki dóttur. = I don’t have a daughter.

The pattern is: subject – verb – ekki – object.
Compare: Ég á líka dóttur. / Ég á ekki dóttur.

What is the difference between líka and einnig in this kind of sentence?

Both líka and einnig can mean “also / too”, but:

• líka is more common and more neutral in everyday speech.
• einnig is a bit more formal/written or “bookish”.

You could say Ég á einnig dóttur, but Ég á líka dóttur is what you’re more likely to hear in normal conversation.

How would I say “I also have a son” using the same structure?

You can use the same pattern with sonur (“son”):

• Ég á líka son. = I also have a son.

Note that the nominative is sonur, but in the accusative (after á) it becomes son:

• Nom: sonur – the subject (e.g. Sonur minn er hér.)
• Acc: son – the object (e.g. Ég á son.)