Hún borðar ein í kvöld.

to eat

Breakdown of Hún borðar ein í kvöld.

• hún: she
• í kvöld: tonight
• ein: alone

Questions & Answers about Hún borðar ein í kvöld.

Why is it ein and not eina, einn, or eitt in this sentence?

Ein agrees with Hún (she).

• Hún is feminine, singular, nominative.
• The word einn/ein/eitt inflects like an adjective and must agree with the subject when it means “alone”:
  • masculine nominative singular: einn
  • feminine nominative singular: ein
  • neuter nominative singular: eitt

So with hún, you must say ein.

Eina is the accusative feminine form and would be used for a direct object, e.g.:

• Hún borðar eina köku. – She eats one cake.

In Hún borðar ein í kvöld, ein is not an object; it’s a predicate word meaning alone that describes hún, so it stays in the nominative feminine: ein.

Is ein here the number “one” or does it mean “alone”? How can I tell?