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Icelandic

The indefinite pronoun **einhver** is used to talk about unspecified people or things ("someone" or "some"). Like an adjective, it changes form to match the gender and case of the noun it replaces or describes.

### "Someone" and "Something" in the Nominative

The masculine nominative form is **einhver**. Used on its own as the subject of a sentence, it translates to "someone."

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The neuter form is **eitthvað**. When used on its own, it translates to "something." Any adjectives describing it must also take their neuter singular form, like **skrýtið** (strange).

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### Accusative Forms

When the pronoun acts as a direct object, it takes the accusative case based on gender:

| Gender | Accusative Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | **einhvern** | someone / some (masculine) |
| Feminine | **einhverja** | some (feminine) |
| Neuter | **eitthvað** | something / some (neuter) |

Notice that the neuter form (**eitthvað**) stays exactly the same as in the nominative case.

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### The Quirky Verb "Vanta" (To Need)

Most Icelandic verbs take a nominative subject. However, **vanta** (to need / lack) is a "quirky" verb: it forces the person experiencing the need into the accusative case (e.g., **mig vantar** instead of *ég vantar*). The thing being needed is *also* accusative.

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Here it is used alongside the accusative pronoun **einhvern** and the adverb **örugglega** (definitely):

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The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

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 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)

Weak adjectives in the nominative (-i, -a, -a)

Question	Answer
someone / some / any (before a noun)	einhver
Is someone inside?	Er einhver inni?
Someone is coming in!	Einhver er að koma inn!
something	eitthvað
strange	skrýtinn
She hears something strange.	Hún heyrir eitthvað skrýtið.
There is something strange inside.	Það er eitthvað skrýtið inni.
to knock	banka
Someone is knocking.	Einhver er að banka.
definitely	örugglega
the sound	hljóðið
Your brother definitely heard the sound.	Bróðir þinn heyrði örugglega hljóðið.
probably	líklega
Someone probably heard the sound too.	Einhver heyrði líklega hljóðið líka.
I immediately knock on the door.	Ég banka strax á hurðina.
We see some big dog outside.	Við sjáum einhvern stóran hund úti.
to need (to lack)	vanta
I definitely need someone.	Mig vantar örugglega einhvern.
the help	hjálpin
You probably need the help.	Þig vantar líklega hjálpina.
We need some help now.	Við þurfum einhverja hjálp núna.
exciting	spennandi
Is there something exciting on TV?	Er eitthvað spennandi í sjónvarpinu?
This is something very exciting!	Þetta er eitthvað mjög spennandi!