To emphasize individuality within a group, Icelandic uses the emphatic phrase hver og einn ("each and every one" or "each individual").
Declining "hver og einn"
Both hver (each/every) and einn (one) decline to match their role in the sentence. When referring to people in a general sense, default to the masculine singular forms.
| Case | Form |
|---|---|
| Nominative | hver og einn |
| Accusative | hvern og einn |
| Dative | hverjum og einum |
| Genitive | hvers og eins |
Here is hver og einn used as the subject (nominative) of the sentence:
| Each and every one has a personal style. | Hver og einn hefur persónulegan stíl. |
| It is great how each and every one expresses themselves. | Það er frábært hvernig hver og einn tjáir sig. |
When the phrase acts as the object of a verb, it takes the appropriate case. For example, the verb aðgreina (to distinguish) takes an accusative object, so we use hvern og einn.
| The characteristic distinguishes each and every one. | Sérkennið aðgreinir hvern og einn. |
Expressing Individuality and Art
Because "each and every one" of us is different, this lesson also introduces vocabulary for discussing personal style, diversity, and artistic expression.
| The creation is an artistic project. | Sköpunin er listrænt verkefni. |
| The diversity is important for the creation. | Fjölbreytileikinn er mikilvægur fyrir sköpunina. |
When talking about typical or characteristic traits, use the adjective dæmigerður (typical).
| There is no typical style because each and every one is different. | Það er enginn dæmigerður stíll af því að hver og einn er öðruvísi. |
| This picture is not typical for the artist. | Þessi mynd er ekki dæmigerð fyrir listamanninn. |