Questions & Answers about Enginn þeirra kemur í kvöld.
What does enginn do in this sentence?
Enginn means no one / nobody / none. In enginn þeirra, it means none of them. It is the main subject of the sentence.
Why is it enginn and not some other form like engin, ekkert, or engir?
Enginn changes for gender, number, and case.
Here it is:
- nominative because it is the subject
- singular because Icelandic treats none in this construction as grammatically singular
- masculine for a masculine or mixed/unspecified group
Other forms are used in other situations:
- engin for feminine
- ekkert for neuter
- engir if you are directly modifying a plural masculine noun, as in Engir gestir koma = No guests are coming
So enginn þeirra is none of them, not no people with an expressed plural noun.
Why is þeirra used here, and what case is it?