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Icelandic

### Obligations and Duties with "eiga að"

To talk about duties, responsibilities, or things you are "supposed to" do, use the verb **eiga** with the infinitive marker **að**.

On its own, **eiga** usually means "to own" or "to have." However, when paired with **að** and a main verb in the infinitive, the meaning changes to "to have to" or "to be supposed to."

**Eiga** is an irregular verb. Here is its present tense conjugation:

| Pronoun | Verb |
|---|---|
| ég | á |
| þú | átt |
| hann/hún/það | á |
| við | eigum |
| þið | eigið |
| þeir/þær/þau | eiga |

To form a sentence, use the conjugated form of **eiga**, follow it with **að**, and then place your main action verb in its infinitive form.

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### Questions and Daily Chores

To ask what someone is supposed to do, you can turn these statements into questions simply by swapping the subject and the verb **eiga**.

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This structure is extremely common when organizing daily life, such as delegating household chores or schoolwork. Many common chores in Icelandic use two-word phrasal verbs, such as **taka til** (to tidy up) and **vaska upp** (to wash dishes).

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You can easily use **eiga að** alongside other verbs to contrast what you *intend* to do (**ætla að**) with what someone else *is supposed* to do.

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Obligation (eiga að)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Weak adjectives in the nominative (-i, -a, -a)

Question	Answer
to be supposed to	eiga að
to prepare	undirbúa
the exam	prófið
The teacher is supposed to prepare the exam.	Kennarinn á að undirbúa prófið.
the essay	ritgerðin
You are supposed to write the essay today.	Þú átt að skrifa ritgerðina í dag.
the homework	heimalærdómurinn
We are supposed to do the homework after the exam.	Við eigum að gera heimalærdóminn eftir prófið.
to tidy up	taka til
The boy is supposed to tidy up.	Strákurinn á að taka til.
the trash	ruslið
Who is supposed to go out with the trash?	Hver á að fara út með ruslið?
to wash dishes	vaska upp
We intend to wash dishes, but you guys have to tidy up.	Við ætlum að vaska upp en þið eigið að taka til.
to vacuum	ryksuga
They are supposed to vacuum the floor.	Þau eiga að ryksuga gólfið.
the laundry	þvotturinn
Are we supposed to wash the laundry today?	Eigum við að þvo þvottinn í dag?
the bill	reikningurinn
I have to pay the bill tomorrow.	Ég á að borga reikninginn á morgun.
We are supposed to prepare the dinner.	Við eigum að undirbúa kvöldmatinn.
I am supposed to finish the homework soon.	Ég á að klára heimalærdóminn bráðum.
The exam was long, but the essay was short.	Prófið var langt en ritgerðin var stutt.
You guys are supposed to wash dishes and vacuum.	Þið eigið að vaska upp og ryksuga.
The laundry was outside.	Þvotturinn var úti.
Was work fun today?	Var vinnan skemmtileg í dag?
We have to pay the bill and take the trash out.	Við eigum að borga reikninginn og fara með ruslið út.