To express absence or lack, Icelandic uses the negative indefinite pronoun enginn (no one / none). It can stand alone to mean "no one" or "nothing," or it can attach to a noun to mean "no" (as in "no money"). Like an adjective, it changes form to match the gender and case of the noun.
Nominative (Subjects)
The masculine nominative form is enginn. It can act as a standalone subject meaning "no one," or pair with a masculine noun to mean "no."
| Who is at home? No one. | Hver er heima? Enginn. |
| There is no purpose! | Það er enginn tilgangur! |
The neuter nominative form is ekkert. When used on its own, it means "nothing."
| What do you find? Nothing. | Hvað finnur þú? Ekkert. |
Accusative (Direct Objects)
When the pronoun acts as a direct object, it takes the accusative case:
| Gender | Accusative Form |
|---|---|
| Masculine | engan |
| Feminine | enga |
| Neuter | ekkert |
| Neuter Plural | engin |
(Note that the neuter singular *ekkert is identical in both the nominative and accusative).*
Masculine:
| We see no boy. | Við sjáum engan strák. |
| No, we have no possibility. | Nei, við eigum engan möguleika. |
Feminine:
| The student does not understand and finds no solution. | Nemandinn skilur ekki og finnur enga lausn. |
| He makes no mistake now. | Hann gerir enga villu núna. |
Neuter Singular:
| The bottle is also empty and I have no water. | Flaskan er líka tóm og ég hef ekkert vatn. |
Neuter Plural:
Some nouns, like vandræði (trouble), are grammatically plural. They pair with the neuter plural form engin.
| We want no trouble here. | Við viljum engin vandræði hér. |