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### "One of..." with "einn af"

When you want to single out a specific person or thing from a larger group, you use the phrase **einn af** (one of). 

The preposition **af** always requires the dative case. Because you are pulling from a larger group, the noun phrase that follows it must be in the **dative plural**. Usually, this group is definite (e.g., "the scientists", "the bands"), so the noun will have the dative plural definite ending attached, which is almost always **-unum**.

### Matching Gender

The word for "one" must match the grammatical gender of the noun you are singling out. Depending on the noun's gender, you will use its nominative form:
- Masculine: **einn af**
- Feminine: **ein af**
- Neuter: **eitt af**

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Notice the adjectives in these sentences (*snjöllustu*, *bestu*, *stærstu*). When adding a descriptive adjective to the group—like "one of the *cleverest* scientists"—the adjective also goes into the dative plural to match the noun.

### Changing the Case of "einn"

While the group following **af** is permanently locked in the dative plural, the word for "one" (**einn** / **ein** / **eitt**) is still the core noun of its part of the sentence. This means it will change its case if the phrase is the object of a verb or follows another preposition.

For example, if the entire phrase is a direct object, the word for "one" takes the accusative case. (Note that the neuter word *eitt* looks identical in both the nominative and accusative cases).

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If the phrase follows a different preposition that dictates a new case, only the word for "one" is affected. In the following example, the preposition **í** (in) requires the dative case, changing the feminine *ein* to its dative form, **einni**:

{{item:1056425}}

One of a group (einn af)

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)

Obligation (eiga að)

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)

Question	Answer
clever	snjall
the scientist	vísindamaðurinn
He is one of the cleverest scientists.	Hann er einn af snjöllustu vísindamönnunum.
influential	áhrifamikill
the band	hljómsveitin
This is one of the most influential bands.	Þetta er ein af áhrifamestu hljómsveitunum.
the female singer	söngkonan
She is one of the best singers.	Hún er ein af bestu söngkonunum.
the masterpiece	meistaraverkið
This is one of the biggest masterpieces.	Þetta er eitt af stærstu meistaraverkunum.
There is one of the scientists in here.	Það er einn af vísindamönnunum hér inni.
the striker	framherjinn
I see the striker score one of the most beautiful goals.	Ég sé framherjann skora eitt af fallegustu mörkunum.
I hear the singer sing one of the masterpieces.	Ég heyri söngkonuna syngja eitt af meistaraverkunum.
the composer	tónskáldið
I hear the composer play one of the new songs.	Ég heyri tónskáldið spila eitt af nýju lögunum.
This is one of the best-known composers.	Þetta er eitt af þekktustu tónskáldunum.
She plays in one of the old bands.	Hún spilar í einni af gömlu hljómsveitunum.
the poet	skáldið
the author (general, creator)	höfundurinn
This poet is one of the cleverest authors.	Þetta skáld er einn af snjöllustu höfundunum.
The poet reads his poem for one of the friends.	Skáldið les ljóðið sitt fyrir einn af vinunum.
The author finds his pen and writes one of the poems.	Höfundurinn finnur penna sinn og skrifar eitt af ljóðunum.
The striker is one of the most influential players.	Framherjinn er einn af áhrifamestu leikmönnunum.