Við erum ósammála í dag.

We disagree today.

Breakdown of Við erum ósammála í dag.

• vera: to be
• við: we
• í dag: today
• ósammála: disagreeing

Questions & Answers about Við erum ósammála í dag.

What does við mean, and why is it við here and not okkur?

Við is the subject pronoun we in the nominative case.
Icelandic personal pronouns change form depending on case:

• Nominative (subject): við = we
• Accusative/Dative (object): okkur = us

Because we are doing the “being” (we are the subject of erum), the nominative form við is required.
You would use okkur when it is an object, for example: Hann sér okkur (He sees us).

Why is the verb erum and not er or eru?

Erum is the 1st person plural form of the verb vera (to be) in the present tense.
The full present-tense conjugation is:

• ég er – I am
• þú ert – you (sg.) are
• hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
• við erum – we are
• þið eruð – you (pl.) are
• þeir / þær / þau eru – they are

Since the subject is við (we), you must use erum: Við erum …

What kind of word is ósammála, and does it change form?

Ósammála functions like an adjective meaning in disagreement / not in agreement.
Important points:

• It is used after vera (to be): Ég er ósammála, Við erum ósammála.
• Unlike regular adjectives, ósammála is indeclinable in modern usage: it does not change for gender, number, or case.

So you say:

• Ég er ósammála. – I disagree.
• Hún er ósammála. – She disagrees.
• Við erum ósammála. – We disagree.

The word ósammála stays the same in all these sentences.

How do I say who we disagree with, as in “We disagree with you today”?

With (ó)sammála, the person you agree/disagree with is normally in the dative case.

Examples:

• Ég er ósammála þér. – I disagree with you (sg.).
• Við erum ósammála kennaranum. – We disagree with the teacher.
• Þeir eru ósammála okkur. – They disagree with us.

So for “We disagree with you today,” you can say:

• Við erum ósammála þér í dag. (to one person, informal “you”)
• Við erum ósammála ykkur í dag. (to more than one “you”)

What is the difference between ósammála and ekki sammála?

Both are used and both mean that you don’t agree:

• ósammála literally has the negative prefix ó- (un-/dis-) + sammála (in agreement).
• ekki sammála uses the normal negation ekki in front of sammála.

In practice:

• Ég er ósammála.
• Ég er ekki sammála.

These are very close in meaning. Ósammála is a bit more compact and can sound slightly more formal or more “single-wordy,” but most of the time they are interchangeable in everyday speech.

Why does í dag mean “today” when í normally means “in”?

Literally, í dag is “in day,” but as a fixed expression it means today.
This is just an idiomatic time expression in Icelandic, similar to how English says at night or in the morning.

Some common related expressions:

• í dag – today
• í gær – yesterday
• í fyrra – last year
• á morgun – tomorrow

You cannot just drop í and say dag by itself in this meaning; í dag is the standard way to say today.

Can í dag go in a different position in the sentence?

Yes, time expressions are quite flexible in Icelandic. All of these are possible:

• Við erum ósammála í dag. (very natural, neutral order)
• Í dag erum við ósammála. (emphasizes “today”)
• Við erum í dag ósammála. (grammatical, but less common and more marked)

For everyday speech, the first two are the most natural and useful patterns.

How would I say this sentence in the past or in a future context?

For the past tense of vera, use vorum with við:

• Við vorum ósammála í gær. – We disagreed yesterday.

Icelandic doesn’t have a special future tense; you usually use the present or helper verbs. Natural future-like options:

• Á morgun verðum við ósammála. – Tomorrow we’ll (end up) disagreeing.
• Við munum vera ósammála á morgun. – We will be in disagreement tomorrow. (more explicit, slightly more formal)

In everyday speech, Á morgun verðum við ósammála is a good, natural choice.

Are there other common ways to express agreeing or disagreeing?

Yes, some useful alternatives:

To agree:

• Ég er sammála. – I agree.
• Ég er sammála þér. – I agree with you.
• Við erum sammála í þessu. – We agree on this.

To disagree / not be on the same page:

• Við erum ósammála. – We disagree.
• Við erum ekki sammála. – We don’t agree.
• Við erum ekki á sama máli. – We are not of the same opinion (we’re not on the same page).

How do you pronounce Við erum ósammála í dag?

A rough pronunciation guide (not strict IPA, just approximate):

• Við ≈ vith (the ð is like the soft th in this)
• erum ≈ EH-rum (short, clear e like in get)
• ósammála ≈ OH-sam-mow-la
  
  • ó like the o in go
  • á like ow in cow
• í ≈ ee (long ee sound)
• dag ≈ dahg (the final g is a soft, throaty sound, often a bit like a voiced h)

Main stress is on the first syllable of each content word: VIÐ erum Ó-sam-mow-la í DAG.