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Þau urðu gift fyrir tíu árum og brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra er enn sérstakur.

Þau urðu gift fyrir tíu árum og brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra er enn sérstakur.
They became married ten years ago and their wedding day is still special.
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Questions & Answers about Þau urðu gift fyrir tíu árum og brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra er enn sérstakur.

Why is the pronoun Þau used here instead of Þeir or Þær?

Icelandic has three third‑person plural pronouns:

  • þeir – masculine plural
  • þær – feminine plural
  • þau – neuter plural

Þau is used for:

  1. Mixed-gender groups (man + woman, etc.).
  2. Groups where gender is not specified or not important.
  3. Very commonly, a couple (like “they, the two married people”).

So in a sentence about a married couple, þau is the natural choice.

What verb form is urðu, and what does it mean?

Urðu is the past plural of the verb verða (“to become”).

Basic principal parts of verða:

  • infinitive: að verða – to become
  • past singular: varð – became (sg)
  • past plural: urðu – became (pl)
  • past participle: orðið – become

So Þau urðu gift literally means “They became married.”

Why is it urðu gift and not urðu giftir or urðu giftar?

Gift is an adjective meaning “married.” It must agree with þau in gender and number.

Adjective gift in the nominative plural:

  • masculine plural: giftir
  • feminine plural: giftar
  • neuter plural: gift

Because þau is neuter plural, you must use the neuter plural form: gift.
Neuter singular and plural often look the same, which is why you don’t see an extra ending here.

Is there a difference between að verða gift and að gifta sig / að giftast?

Yes, there is a nuance:

  • að gifta sig / að giftast – the act of getting married

    • Þau giftust fyrir tíu árum. – They got married ten years ago.

  • að verða gift – becoming in the state of being married

    • Þau urðu gift fyrir tíu árum. – They became married ten years ago.

In practice, both can often translate as “got married,” but:

  • gifta sig / giftast focuses more on the ceremony/event.
  • verða gift sounds a bit more like “ended up (being) married,” emphasizing the resulting state.
How does fyrir tíu árum mean “ten years ago”? What case is árum?

The time expression is built like this:

  • fyrir
    • dative time expression = “ago”
  • tíu – “ten”
  • ár – “year” (neuter noun)
  • dative plural of ár is árum

So:

  • fyrir tíu árum = “before ten years” → “ten years ago”

You can optionally add síðan (“since”) and say:

  • fyrir tíu árum síðan – also “ten years ago.”
What exactly is brúðkaupsdagurinn made of?

It’s a compound noun:

  1. brúðkaup – wedding (originally “bride‑purchase,” historically)
  2. dagur – day

To form the compound:

  • brúðkaup takes a genitive -s: brúðkaups-
  • plus dagur → brúðkaupsdagur – “wedding day”

Then it’s made definite:

  • indefinite: brúðkaupsdagur – a wedding day
  • definite: brúðkaupsdagurinn – the wedding day / the wedding anniversary

So brúðkaupsdagurinn literally: “the wedding‑day.”

Why is the possessive after the noun: brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra, not þeirra brúðkaupsdagur?

In Icelandic, the normal word order with possessive pronouns is:

  • [noun] + [possessive]

So:

  • brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra – their wedding day/anniversary (neutral order)

Placing the possessive before the noun:

  • þeirra brúðkaupsdagur

is possible but marked; it tends to sound:

  • more emphatic,
  • contrastive (e.g. their wedding day, as opposed to someone else’s),
  • or more formal/poetic.

In everyday speech, brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra is the standard pattern.

What is þeirra, and why is it used instead of an agreeing possessive like “their” in English?

Þeirra is the genitive plural form of the third‑person pronoun:

  • nominative: þeir / þær / þau
  • genitive: þeirra

It functions as “their” regardless of the gender of the owners or the noun that is owned.
Unlike English adjectives, Icelandic þeirra does not change to agree with the noun; it stays þeirra in all cases as a possessive pronoun.

So:

  • húsið þeirra – their house
  • börnin þeirra – their children
  • brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra – their wedding day
Why is sérstakur in the form sérstakur and not sérstakt or sérstök?

Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

  • The subject here is brúðkaupsdagurinn:
    • gender: masculine
    • number: singular
    • case: nominative

The adjective sérstakur (“special”) in the nominative singular:

  • masculine: sérstakur
  • feminine: sérstök
  • neuter: sérstakt

Because brúðkaupsdagurinn is masculine singular nominative, the correct form is sérstakur:

  • brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra er enn sérstakur.
What does enn mean here, and is it different from ennþá?

In this sentence, enn means “still”:

  • … er enn sérstakur. – “… is still special.”

Enn and ennþá both commonly mean “still”:

  • Hann er enn hér. – He is still here.
  • Hann er ennþá hér. – He is still here.

Ennþá is a bit more colloquial and emphatic; enn is slightly shorter and feels a bit more written or neutral. In many contexts, they are interchangeable.

Why is the first verb urðu (past) but the second er (present)? Can you use a past tense in both clauses?

The tenses reflect time and aspect:

  • Þau urðu gift fyrir tíu árum – past: they became married ten years ago (completed event).
  • … og brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra er enn sérstakur. – present: their wedding day is still special now.

You would not normally say:

  • ✗ … og brúðkaupsdagurinn þeirra var enn sérstakur.

That would suggest you’re talking about some past point in time when it was still special, implying it may no longer be special now. Using er shows the situation continues into the present.