Questions & Answers about Þrír hestar eru í garðinum.
Why is it Þrír and not some other form of “three”? I’ve seen þrjár and þrjú as well.
Icelandic numbers change form to agree with the noun’s gender, case and number.
- hestur (horse) is masculine.
- In this sentence, Þrír hestar is the subject, so it’s in the nominative plural.
- The masculine nominative plural form of “three” is þrír.
The main nominative forms of “three” are:
- þrír – masculine (e.g. þrír hestar – three horses)
- þrjár – feminine (e.g. þrjár konur – three women)
- þrjú – neuter (e.g. þrjú hús – three houses)
So it must be Þrír hestar, not þrjár hestar or þrjú hestar.
Why is it hestar and not hestur?
In Icelandic, nouns change form for number and case.
- hestur is the singular nominative: one horse.
- hestar is the plural nominative: horses (subject form).
Since the sentence talks about three horses, the noun must be plural:
- Einn hestur er í garðinum. – One horse is in the yard.
- Þrír hestar eru í garðinum. – Three horses are in the yard.
Using Þrír hestur would mix plural þrír with singular hestur, which is ungrammatical.
Why is the verb eru instead of er?