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Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.

Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.
Sometimes the son agrees with me, but the daughter disagrees.
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Questions & Answers about Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.

I know stundum means sometimes, but why does it come at the beginning, and why does the verb er come before sonurinn?

In Icelandic main clauses there is a verb‑second (V2) word order rule:

  • The finite verb (here er) must be in second position in the sentence.
  • Only one element can come before it (a subject, an adverb, an object, etc.).

In your sentence:

  1. Stundum (sometimes) – first element
  2. er (is) – verb, must come second
  3. sonurinn sammála mér – the rest of the clause

So you get:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér…
    Sometimes is the son in‑agreement with me… (literally)

If you start with the subject instead, the verb still stays second:

  • Sonurinn er stundum sammála mér…
    The son is sometimes in agreement with me…

Both are correct; putting stundum first just emphasizes sometimes a bit more.

What is the difference between sonur and sonurinn, and between dóttir and dóttirin?

Icelandic usually adds the definite article as a suffix to nouns instead of a separate word like the.

  • sonur = son

  • sonurinn = the son (sonur

    • inn)

  • dóttir = daughter
  • dóttirin = the daughter (dóttir
    • in)

So in your sentence, sonurinn and dóttirin are both nominative definite forms meaning the son and the daughter (subjects of the verbs).

Is sammála a verb meaning to agree, or something else? Why do we need er?

sammála is not a full verb by itself. It is used like an adjective meaning in agreement / of the same opinion.

The actual verb here is vera (to be), conjugated as er:

  • sonurinn er sammála mér
    = the son is in agreement with me → the son agrees with me

So the pattern is:

  • [subject] + er / eru + sammála + [person in dative]

Examples:

  • Ég er sammála þér. – I agree with you.
  • Við erum sammála honum. – We agree with him.
  • Þau eru ekki sammála mér. – They do not agree with me.

You always need the verb vera (er, ert, er, erum, eruð, eru), just as in English you need is/are with adjectives (is happy, is tired, is wrong).

Why is it sammála mér and not sammála mig? What’s going on with mér?

Icelandic pronouns change form according to case. The forms of ég (I) are:

  • Nominative: ég – subject (Ég er… – I am…)
  • Accusative: mig – most direct objects
  • Dative: mér – after many prepositions and some adjectives/verbs
  • Genitive: mín

The adjective sammála governs the dative case:

  • vera sammála einhverjum – to agree with someone (someone = dative)

So:

  • Hann er sammála mér. – He agrees with me. (mér = dative)
  • Not: *Hann er sammála mig.

Similarly:

  • Ég er sammála þér. – I agree with you (dative of þú).
  • Við erum sammála þeim. – We agree with them (dative plural þeim).
How would I say things like “I agree with you / She agrees with us / They don’t agree with him” using sammála?

Use vera + sammála + [dative pronoun]. Here are some common patterns:

  • Ég er sammála þér. – I agree with you.
  • Þú ert sammála mér. – You agree with me.
  • Hann er sammála okkur. – He agrees with us.
  • Hún er sammála þeim. – She agrees with them.
  • Við erum sammála honum. – We agree with him.
  • Þau eru ekki sammála henni. – They do not agree with her.

Key dative pronouns:

  • mér – me
  • þér – you (singular)
  • honum – him
  • henni – her
  • okkur – us
  • ykkur – you (plural)
  • þeim – them
Does sammála change form for gender or number, like other adjectives?

In modern Icelandic, sammála is basically indeclinable in normal use:

  • Ég er sammála. – I (any gender) agree.
  • Hann er sammála. – He agrees.
  • Hún er sammála. – She agrees.
  • Þau eru sammála. – They agree.

Unlike typical adjectives (stór, stór, stórt, stórir…), sammála generally stays the same form no matter the subject’s gender or number.

So you don’t have to learn separate masculine/feminine/neuter forms here; just use sammála.

What exactly does ósammála mean, and is ó- a general “un-/dis-” prefix?

ósammála is simply the opposite of sammála:

  • vera ósammála einhverjum – to disagree with someone

So:

  • dóttirin er ósammála
    = the daughter is not in agreement
    → the daughter disagrees.

The prefix ó- is a very common negative prefix, similar to un-, in-, dis- in English. Some examples:

  • ánægður – pleased → óánægður – displeased
  • mögulegur – possible → ómögulegur – impossible
  • heiðarlegur – honest → óheiðarlegur – dishonest

So sammála / ósammála work like happy / unhappy, but grammatically they behave like adjectives with vera (to be).

In English we say “agree with me”. Why is there no word for “with” in sammála mér?

Icelandic doesn’t always use a preposition where English does. Instead, some adjectives and verbs:

  • take their complement in a particular case (nominative/accusative/dative/genitive)
  • without a preposition.

sammála is one of these: it simply requires the dative:

  • vera sammála mér – to be in agreement me‑DAT → agree with me
  • vera sammála þér – agree with you
  • vera sammála þeim – agree with them

So the “with” idea is expressed not by a separate word, but by the case choice (dative).

Can I leave out the second er and just say en dóttirin ósammála?

No. In Icelandic you cannot normally drop the verb vera (to be) like that.

You must say:

  • … en dóttirin er ósammála.

Omitting er would sound like a fragment or like non‑native speech. Each clause needs its own finite verb:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.
    Sometimes the son agrees with me, but the daughter disagrees.
Could I change the word order to Sonurinn er stundum sammála mér? Does that mean something different?

Yes, you can say:

  • Sonurinn er stundum sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.

Both:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér…
  • Sonurinn er stundum sammála mér…

are correct and mean basically the same thing.

Subtle difference:

  • Stundum er sonurinn… – slight emphasis on sometimes: “Sometimes, it’s the son who agrees with me…”
  • Sonurinn er stundum… – more neutral: “The son sometimes agrees with me…”

Grammatically both obey the V2 rule: the finite verb er is always the second element.

Why is there a comma before en? Is that always required?

en is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. When it joins two independent clauses, Icelandic usually places a comma before en, just like the English comma before but:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.

Both parts can stand alone as full sentences:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér.
  • Dóttirin er ósammála.

Because of that, a comma before en is standard here. If en just joins smaller phrases inside one clause, the comma may not be needed, but in your sentence it joins two full clauses.

Could I replace sonurinn and dóttirin with pronouns? How would the sentence look then?

Yes. If the context already makes it clear who you’re talking about, you could use hann (he) and hún (she):

  • Stundum er hann sammála mér, en hún er ósammála.
    Sometimes he agrees with me, but she disagrees.

Or, keeping one noun and one pronoun, if the context allows:

  • Stundum er sonurinn sammála mér, en hún er ósammála.
  • Stundum er hann sammála mér, en dóttirin er ósammála.

The grammar around sammála and ósammála stays the same; only the subject changes from a noun (sonurinn / dóttirin) to a pronoun (hann / hún).