Sumir nemendur lesa, aðrir skrifa.

Some students read, others write.

Breakdown of Sumir nemendur lesa, aðrir skrifa.

• skrifa: to write
• lesa: to read
• nemandinn: the student
• sumur: some

Questions & Answers about Sumir nemendur lesa, aðrir skrifa.

What exactly does sumir mean here, and how is it different from nokkrir or einhverjir?

Sumir means some (of a known or defined group) and strongly suggests a contrast with the rest of the group – which is why it so often appears with aðrir (others).

• Sumir nemendur lesa, aðrir skrifa.
  Some (of the) students read, others write.

Compare:

• nokkrir = some, several (a few, without necessarily contrasting with others)
• einhverjir = some (unspecified, “some or other”, often more indefinite or vague)

So:

• Sumir nemendur lesa, aðrir skrifa.
  Highlights: one part of the same group does X, another part does Y.

If you just wanted to say “Several students are reading” with no built‑in contrast, you’d more likely use nokkrir nemendur lesa.

Why is it sumir nemendur and not sumar nemendur or something like sum nemendur?

In Icelandic, determiners like sumir must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Nemandi = student (masculine noun)
Nominative plural = nemendur

So the matching nominative masculine plural of sumur (“some”) is:

• Masculine nom. pl.: sumir
• Feminine nom. pl.: sumar
• Neuter nom. pl.: sum