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Icelandic

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.

{{item:993689}}

{{item:993697}}

### 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:

{{item:993692}}

However, if you use a feminine noun like **manneskja** (person), you must switch to the feminine plural forms (**sumar**, **aðrar**):

{{item:993708}}

Similarly, neuter nouns like **barn** (child) require the neuter plural forms (**sum**, **önnur**):

{{item:993704}}

Some and others (sumir, aðrir)

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
some (sumir, sumar, sum)	sumur
calm	rólegur
Some people are calm, but others talk a lot.	Sumir eru rólegir en aðrir tala mikið.
the individual	einstaklingurinn
shy	feiminn
Some individuals are very shy.	Sumir einstaklingar eru mjög feimnir.
sociable	félagslyndur
Many are sociable, but others are shy.	Margir eru félagslyndir en aðrir eru feimnir.
hardworking	duglegur
lazy	latur
At work, some are hardworking, but others are lazy.	Í vinnunni eru sumir duglegir en aðrir eru latir.
the behavior	hegðunin
serious	alvarlegur
This behavior is very serious.	Þessi hegðun er mjög alvarleg.
Some people are always serious.	Sumir eru alltaf alvarlegir.
Several individuals practice more often than others.	Nokkrir einstaklingar æfa oftar en aðrir.
Bad behavior bothers others.	Slæm hegðun truflar aðra.
Some children are sociable, but others are lazy.	Sum börn eru félagslynd en önnur eru löt.
In the evenings, some are calm, but others want to play.	Á kvöldin eru sumir rólegir en aðrir vilja spila.
the person	manneskjan
She is a very hardworking person.	Hún er mjög dugleg manneskja.
Some people are shy but others are sociable.	Sumar manneskjur eru feimnar en aðrar eru félagslyndar.