Hjónin dansa saman.

together

Breakdown of Hjónin dansa saman.

• dansa: to dance
• hjón: the married couple

Questions & Answers about Hjónin dansa saman.

What does hjónin mean, and is it singular or plural?

Hjónin means “the married couple” in this sentence.

Grammatically, it is:

• Number: plural
• Gender: neuter
• Case: nominative (subject of the sentence)
• Definiteness: definite (“the”, not “a”)

So even though in English “the couple” feels like one unit, in Icelandic hjónin is plural, and that’s why the verb is also plural (dansa).

Why is there no separate word for “the” in Hjónin dansa saman?

Icelandic normally does not use a separate word for “the”. Instead, it attaches a definite article ending to the noun.

• hjón = (a) married couple / married pair
• hjónin = the married couple

Here:

• -in is the definite ending for neuter plural nominative nouns like hjón.
  So hjón + in → hjónin (“the married couple”).

That’s why the sentence has no separate word meaning “the”; it’s built into hjónin itself.

Why is the verb dansa and not dansar?

The verb must with the subject.