Questions & Answers about Ég veit ekki hvaða kjól ég á að velja í kvöld.
Why is it hvaða kjól and not hvaði kjóll or something similar?
Hvaða is the Icelandic word for which/what kind of when it comes before a noun. In modern Icelandic, hvaða is generally indeclinable, which means it usually stays the same instead of changing for gender, number, or case.
So in:
hvaða kjól = which dress
the noun changes form as needed, but hvaða stays hvaða.
That is very convenient for learners, because you do not have to memorize a whole set of forms for hvaða in everyday use.
Why is kjól written without the final -l-l here?
The dictionary form is kjóll = dress.
But in the sentence, it appears as kjól, because it is in the accusative singular:
- nominative: kjóll
- accusative: kjól
This happens because velja (to choose) takes a direct object, and that object is commonly in the accusative.
So:
- kjóll = a dress, as subject
- ég vel kjól = I choose a dress
Why is the phrase ég á að velja used? What does að eiga að mean here?