Questions & Answers about Ég er enn óviss um hvort ég eigi að samþykkja boðið.
Why is it ég eigi and not ég á?
Because this clause expresses uncertainty, and Icelandic often uses the subjunctive in that situation.
- á = present indicative of eiga
- eigi = present subjunctive of eiga
In hvort ég eigi að samþykkja boðið, the speaker is unsure about what they should do, so the subjunctive fits well.
A rough comparison:
- ég á að samþykkja = I am supposed to accept / I should accept
- hvort ég eigi að samþykkja = whether I should accept
So eigi is not random; it is the expected subjunctive form here.
What does um hvort mean here? Why is um needed?
The adjective óviss normally goes with um when you say what someone is uncertain about.
- vera óviss um eitthvað = to be uncertain about something
That pattern stays the same even when what follows is a whole clause:
- óviss um boðið = uncertain about the offer
- óviss um hvort ég eigi að samþykkja boðið = uncertain about whether I should accept the offer
So:
- hvort = whether
- um is there because óviss regularly takes it
English would usually just say uncertain whether..., but Icelandic keeps the preposition.