Ég á tíu penna.

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Breakdown of Ég á tíu penna.

• eiga: to have
• penni: the pen
• tíu: ten

Questions & Answers about Ég á tíu penna.

In English á usually means on. Why does á mean have here?

Icelandic has two different á in writing:

1. á as a preposition:

   • Meaning: on, at
   • Example: Bókin er á borðinu. – The book is on the table.

2. á as a verb form of eiga (to own, to have):

   • ég á = I have / I own
   • þú átt = you have
   • hann á = he has, etc.

In Ég á tíu penna, á is the verb (1st person singular present of eiga).
So the sentence structure is:

• Ég (I) – subject
• á (have) – verb
• tíu penna (ten pens) – object

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Why is it á and not the full verb eiga in the sentence?

Eiga is the infinitive form, like to have in English.
When you use it in a real sentence, you conjugate it:

• ég á – I have
• þú átt – you (sing.) have
• hann / hún / það á – he / she / it has