Breakdown of Hvor þeirra kemur með okkur á fundinn, hún eða systir hennar?
Questions & Answers about Hvor þeirra kemur með okkur á fundinn, hún eða systir hennar?
Why is hvor used here instead of hver?
Hvor is used when the choice is between two specific options. That fits this sentence because the speaker is asking which of two people it is: hún eða systir hennar.
By contrast, hver is the more general word for who / which / each, and it is not limited to just two choices.
So here:
- hvor = which of the two
- hver = who / which more generally
What does þeirra mean here, and why is it in that form?
Þeirra is the genitive plural form of the 3rd-person pronoun: their / of them.
In this sentence, hvor þeirra literally means which of them. Icelandic often uses this kind of partitive genitive after words like hvor to mean which one out of a group.
So:
- þau / þær / þeir = they
- þeirra = of them
Even though the two people here are women, þeirra is still the correct genitive plural form used in this structure.
Why is the verb kemur singular, not plural?
Because the subject is understood as one person: which one of them.
Even though þeirra refers to more than one person, the actual question is about a single person coming. So Icelandic uses the 3rd person singular verb:
- kemur = comes / is coming
If the subject were truly plural, then you would use a plural verb form.
Why is the word order Hvor þeirra kemur...?
This follows a very common Icelandic pattern: in a main clause question, the question word comes first, and the finite verb comes next.
So the structure is:
- Hvor þeirra = question phrase
- kemur = finite verb
- then the rest of the sentence
This is part of Icelandic’s verb-second tendency in main clauses.
Why is it með okkur and not með við?
Because með takes the dative case when it means with in the sense of accompaniment.
The pronoun við means we / us, but its form changes by case:
- nominative: við
- dative: okkur
So:
- með okkur = with us
This is just normal case government after the preposition með.
Why does it say á fundinn?
There are two things happening here:
fundinn is the accusative singular definite form of fundur
- fundur = meeting
- fundinn = the meeting
The preposition á takes the accusative when it shows movement toward a place/event, but the dative when it shows location.
So:
- á fundinn = to the meeting / going to the meeting
- á fundinum = at the meeting
That is why á fundinn is used here: the person is coming along to the meeting.
Why is it hún and not hana after the comma?
Because hún is standing as one of the possible subjects of kemur.
The sentence is basically asking:
- Which one is coming — she or her sister?
Since these are subject alternatives, Icelandic uses the nominative:
- hún = she
- not hana = her
English often blurs this in speech, but Icelandic keeps the case distinction clearly.
What exactly does systir hennar mean, and why is hennar placed after the noun?
Systir hennar means her sister.
In Icelandic, possessive forms like hennar often come after the noun:
- systir hennar = her sister
- literally: sister her
This is a very normal Icelandic word order.
Also:
- hennar is the genitive form meaning her
- it shows who the sister belongs to
Is the final part hún eða systir hennar necessary?
Not always. It is there to spell out the two options clearly.
You could say just:
- Hvor þeirra kemur með okkur á fundinn?
if the two people are already obvious from context.
Adding:
- hún eða systir hennar
makes the contrast explicit and removes ambiguity. It is similar to English saying:
- Which of them is coming with us to the meeting — she or her sister?
Does the sentence sound natural in Icelandic?
Yes. It sounds like a normal, natural way to ask which of two women is coming along to a meeting.
The sentence is especially clear because it:
- uses hvor for a two-way choice
- uses hvor þeirra for which of them
- then names the two alternatives explicitly at the end
So structurally, it is a very good example of a real Icelandic question.
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