Hjónin ræða oft um aldur barna sinna.

the child

Breakdown of Hjónin ræða oft um aldur barna sinna.

• um: about
• oft: often
• sinn: their

Questions & Answers about Hjónin ræða oft um aldur barna sinna.

What does Hjónin literally mean, and why does it refer to one couple instead of several couples?

The noun hjón is a bit special in Icelandic:

• hjón means “a married couple” (two people, treated as a pair).
• Grammatically, hjón is neuter plural in form, even though it refers to exactly one couple.
• hjónin is hjón with the definite article, so it means “the married couple”.

So even though you’re talking about one couple, the word itself is plural, and it always takes plural verb agreement (like ræða here). This is why you see Hjónin ræða… and not Hjónin ræðir…

Why is the verb ræða in the form ræða and not ræðir or something else?

The infinitive of the verb is að ræða = “to discuss / talk about”.

Present tense forms (active, indicative) are:

• 1st person singular: ég ræði – I discuss
• 2nd person singular: þú ræðir – you discuss
• 3rd person singular: hann / hún / það ræðir – he / she / it discusses
• Plural (all persons): við / þið / þeir / þær / þau ræða – we / you (pl.) / they discuss

Because hjónin is grammatically plural, the verb must also be plural ræða:

• Hjónin ræða oft … = The (married) couple often discuss …

If the subject were singular, you’d use ræðir:

• Maðurinn ræðir oft … = The man often discusses …

Why is oft placed between ræða and um aldur? Can oft go somewhere else in the sentence?