Við eigum að virða aðra.

A natural word-by-word breakdown is:

• Við = we
• eigum = have / own in its basic sense, but here it is part of the expression eiga að
• að = the infinitive marker, similar to to
• virða = respect
• aðra = others / other people

So although the literal pieces look a bit like we have to respect others, the whole sentence is best understood as we should / ought to respect others.

By itself, eiga usually does mean to own or to have.

But Icelandic very often uses the pattern:

eiga að + infinitive

This means things like:

• should
• ought to
• be supposed to

So in this sentence, eigum að virða is not about possession at all. It is a modal-style expression of obligation or duty.

Here að is the infinitive marker. It works a lot like English to in phrases such as:

• to respect
• ought to respect

In eigum að virða, the verb virða stays in the infinitive, and að marks that infinitive.

So:

• eigum = the conjugated verb
• að virða = to respect

Because the sentence already has its finite, conjugated verb: eigum.

In Icelandic, as in English, once you have a modal-like structure, the main action verb usually stays in the infinitive.

Compare:

• Við virðum aðra. = We respect others.
• Við eigum að virða aðra. = We should respect others.

In the second sentence, eigum carries the tense and agreement, so virða remains unchanged.

Because aðra is the object form here.

The verb virða takes a direct object, and that object is in the accusative case.
The word aðrir is a nominative form, while aðra is the accusative form needed in this sentence.

So:

• aðrir = nominative others
• aðra = accusative others

Since others are the people being respected, Icelandic uses the object form aðra.

It is originally an adjective from annar meaning other, but here it is being used on its own, without a noun.

That is called a substantive use of an adjective. In English, we do something similar with words like the rich, the poor, or the elderly.

So aðra here really means:

• other people
• others

The noun is not spoken, but it is understood.

Because Icelandic often uses the masculine plural as the default form when referring to people in a general or mixed sense.

So aðra here does not necessarily mean other men specifically. It can mean other people in general.

This is a very common feature of Icelandic grammar, and learners will see it often.

Here it definitely means we.

That is because við can be:

• a pronoun: we
• a preposition: with / by / against, depending on context

In this sentence, við is followed by the verb eigum, so it is clearly the subject of the sentence: we.

If it were the preposition, the sentence structure would look very different.

In this sentence, eiga að expresses obligation or moral duty, something like:

• should
• ought to

Because the action is virða aðra — respect others — the sentence sounds like a moral principle or general rule.

In other contexts, eiga að can also mean be supposed to, especially for plans or expectations. For example, it can mean something like we are supposed to arrive at eight.

So the exact nuance depends on context, but here it is clearly about what is right or proper.

This sentence has a very normal main-clause order:

• Við = subject
• eigum = finite verb
• að virða = infinitive phrase
• aðra = object

So the pattern is basically:

subject + finite verb + að + infinitive + object

Also, Icelandic is a verb-second language. That means if you move another element to the front, the finite verb still stays in second position. For example:

• Alltaf eigum við að virða aðra. = We should always respect others.

That is a useful pattern to remember.

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

vith AY-yum ath VIR-tha ATH-ra

A few helpful notes:

• ð sounds like the th in this, not the th in thin
• við sounds roughly like vith
• eigum begins with a sound like ay
• virða has the stress on the first syllable: VIR-
• aðra has the ðr cluster, which can feel tricky at first

This is only an approximation, but it is good enough to get started.

That would change the sentence from an obligation to a statement of fact.

• Við eigum að virða aðra. = We should respect others.
• Við virðum aðra. = We respect others.

So:

• eigum að virða = what we ought to do
• virðum = what we actually do

That is an important distinction in Icelandic, just as it is in English.