To contrast groups of people or things—like saying "some are calm, but others talk a lot"—Icelandic pairs the indefinite pronouns sumur (some) and annar (other).
Because you are talking about groups, you will generally use the plural forms of these words. Like adjectives, they must agree with the gender of the noun they describe. Here are their nominative (subject) plural forms:
| Gender | Some (sumur) | Others (annar) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | sumir | aðrir |
| Feminine | sumar | aðrar |
| Neuter | sum | önnur |
Talking About People in General
When referring to groups of people in a general sense without stating a specific noun, Icelandic defaults to the masculine plural forms: sumir and aðrir. Adjectives describing these groups will also take the masculine plural ending.
| Some people are calm, but others talk a lot. | Sumir eru rólegir en aðrir tala mikið. |
| At work, some are hardworking, but others are lazy. | Í vinnunni eru sumir duglegir en aðrir eru latir. |
Agreeing with Specific Nouns
When you explicitly include a noun, sumur and annar must match its grammatical gender, even if the noun refers to people in general.
For masculine nouns like einstaklingur (individual), you continue to use the masculine forms:
| Some individuals are very shy. | Sumir einstaklingar eru mjög feimnir. |
However, if you use a feminine noun like manneskja (person), you must switch to the feminine plural forms (sumar, aðrar):
| Some people are shy but others are sociable. | Sumar manneskjur eru feimnar en aðrar eru félagslyndar. |
Similarly, neuter nouns like barn (child) require the neuter plural forms (sum, önnur):
| Some children are sociable, but others are lazy. | Sum börn eru félagslynd en önnur eru löt. |