Icelandic uses the pronoun báðir to mean "both". Like adjectives, it must agree in gender and case with the noun it refers to.
The Nominative Case
When "both" is the subject of the sentence, use the nominative forms:
| Gender | Nominative |
|---|---|
| Masculine | báðir |
| Feminine | báðar |
| Neuter | bæði |
Notice how the pronoun changes depending on who or what is being discussed:
| The boys are both very young. | Strákarnir eru báðir mjög ungir. |
| The girls were both sick yesterday. | Stelpurnar voru báðar veikar í gær. |
| Both siblings were at home today. | Bæði systkinin voru heima í dag. |
The Accusative Case
When "both" is the direct object of an action (or follows an accusative preposition like með), it takes the accusative case. Fortunately, only the masculine form changes!
| Gender | Accusative |
|---|---|
| Masculine | báða |
| Feminine | báðar |
| Neuter | bæði |
Many things naturally come in pairs. Remember to match their grammatical genders: twins (tvíburinn) are masculine, hands (höndin) are feminine, and pairs (parið) are neuter.
| I see both twins now. | Ég sé báða tvíburana núna. |
| She had both hands in her pockets. | Hún var með báðar hendurnar í vösunum. |
| The shoes are cool, but I want both pairs. | Skórnir eru flottir, en ég vil bæði pörin. |
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