Hjónin dansa saman.

The couple dance together.

Breakdown of Hjónin dansa saman.

• saman: together
• 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 agree in number with the subject.

• dansa is the 3rd person plural present form: “(they) dance”
• dansar is the 3rd person singular present form: “(he/she/it) dances”

Since hjónin is grammatically plural (“the couple” as two people), you must use the plural form:

• Hjónin dansa saman. = The (married) couple dance together.

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

• Maðurinn dansar. = The man dances.

What exactly does saman mean, and what kind of word is it?

Saman is an adverb meaning “together”.

It’s used when people (or things) are doing something jointly:

• Við borðum saman. = We eat together.
• Þau vinna saman. = They work together.
• Hjónin dansa saman. = The couple dance together.

Word order: adverbs like saman usually go after the verb in a simple main clause, so dansa saman is the natural order.

How would I say “The couple is dancing together” with a progressive form, like English is dancing?

You can use the “eru að + infinitive” construction:

• Hjónin eru að dansa saman.

This is closer in feel to “The couple are / is dancing together (right now).”

Difference in nuance:

• Hjónin dansa saman.
  General / habitual or simple present description.
• Hjónin eru að dansa saman.
  Emphasizes that the dancing is happening at this moment.

In everyday Icelandic, the simple present (dansa) often covers meanings where English would use “are dancing”, so Hjónin dansa saman can also be used in a “right now” context, depending on the situation.

How do I say “The couple danced together” in the past tense?

Use the past tense of að dansa, which is dansa for 3rd person plural as well:

• Hjónin dönsuðu saman. = The (married) couple danced together.

Here:

• dönsuðu is 3rd person plural past
• notice the vowel change a → ö (dansa → dönsuðu), which is a regular pattern for many -a verbs in Icelandic in certain forms.

Can hjónin refer to any couple, or specifically a married couple?

Hjón is traditionally used for a married couple (or at least a couple in a marriage‑like partnership). So:

• hjónin → usually understood as “the married couple”.

If you mean any couple (e.g., dating, engaged, etc.), a more neutral word is:

• parið = the couple (any pair in a romantic relationship)

So:

• Hjónin dansa saman.
  Implies: the married couple dance together.
• Parið dansar saman.
  Implies: the couple (not necessarily married) dance together.
  Note the singular verb dansar here, because parið is singular.

Why does hjónin take a plural verb if it’s one unit like “the couple”?

In English, “couple” is grammatically singular but sometimes behaves like a plural in meaning. Icelandic has made this grammatical:

• hjón is a plural‑only noun (pluralia tantum) meaning essentially “two spouses” / “a married pair”.
• hjónin is the definite plural: “the married pair / the married couple”.

Because hjónin is grammatically plural, it always takes plural agreement:

• Hjónin dansa. = The couple dance.
• Hjónin eru heima. = The couple are at home.

So you must treat hjónin like “they”, not like “it”, grammatically speaking.

How is Hjónin dansa saman pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA and rough English hints):

• Hjónin → [ˈçouːnɪn]

  • hj- is like a breathy “hy” sound (similar to saying “hy-” in huge, but more hissy).
  • ó is like a long “o” in go.
  • Stress is on the first syllable: HJÓ-nin.

• dansa → [ˈtansa] or [ˈdansʰa] (depending on dialect/precision)

  • d at the start is often a bit like a soft “t” to English ears.
  • a as in father.

• saman → [ˈsaːman]

  • first a is long, again like father.
  • stress on SA-.

Putting it together (very roughly): “HYOH-nin TAN-sa SAH-man”, with clear stress on the first syllable of each word.

What are the other case forms of hjónin, like in “I see the couple” or “from the couple”?

Hjón is a neuter plural noun. Here are the main forms with the definite article:

• Nominative (subject):
  hjónin – Hjónin dansa saman.
  The couple dance together.

• Accusative (direct object):
  hjónin – Ég sé hjónin.
  I see the couple.

  (Same form as nominative for this noun.)

• Dative (indirect object / after some prepositions):
  hjónunum – Ég gef gjöf hjónunum.
  I give a gift to the couple.

• Genitive (possessive):
  hjónanna – Húsið hjónanna er gult.
  The couple’s house is yellow.

In the original sentence Hjónin dansa saman, hjónin is in the nominative, acting as the subject.