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Icelandic

In English, we use "which" whether we are choosing between two options or a hundred. Icelandic makes a strict grammatical distinction: use **hvor** when there are exactly two options, and **hver** when there are three or more.

### Which of Two (Hvor)

When you are presented with only two possibilities—such as choosing between your left (**vinstri**) and right (**hægri**) hand—use the dual interrogative **hvor**.

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It is used for any scenario where the options are strictly paired or limited to two, such as evaluating an option (**valkosturinn**):

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### One and the Other

When discussing two specific items, you will often want to contrast them by saying "one... but the other...". Icelandic pairs the word **annar** (one) with **hinn** (the other). 

For example, out of two choices, one might be correct (**réttur**) and the other wrong (**rangur**).

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You can also use **hinn** on its own whenever you simply mean "the other" of a known pair.

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### Neither of Two (Hvorugur)

If the answer to "which of the two?" is "neither", Icelandic has a specific pronoun for that: **hvorugur**. It is formed by adding a negative suffix directly to *hvor*. Use it when rejecting both options in a pair.

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### Which of Many / Who (Hver)

If your pool of choices is three or more, or if you are asking about an open group, you must switch to the plural interrogative **hver**.

When applied to people, **hver** is also the standard word for "who". Notice how it is used below to ask who in a group is making a decision (**ákvörðunin**) or who holds a certain opinion (**skoðunin**).

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Which of two vs. which of many (hvor, hver)

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
which of two	hvor
left	vinstri
right	hægri
Which hand is left and which is right?	Hvor höndin er vinstri og hvor er hægri?
She writes with the right hand.	Hún skrifar með hægri hendinni.
Is the left shoe yours?	Er vinstri skórinn þinn?
the option	valkosturinn
Which option is better?	Hvor valkosturinn er betri?
correct	réttur
wrong	rangur
Is this option right or wrong?	Er þessi valkostur réttur eða rangur?
the other	hinn
One option is correct, but the other is wrong.	Annar valkosturinn er réttur, en hinn er rangur.
neither of two	hvorugur
Neither of them is the doctor.	Hvorugur þeirra er læknirinn.
Neither of the boys knows the answer.	Hvorugur strákanna veit svarið.
the decision	ákvörðunin
Which of the kids makes the decision?	Hver krakkanna tekur ákvörðunina?
the opinion	skoðunin
Who has a different opinion?	Hver hefur aðra skoðun?
The decision is between the kids.	Ákvörðunin er milli krakkanna.
Is that your opinion?	Er það þín skoðun?
The other car is much bigger.	Hinn bíllinn er mikið stærri.
correctly, right (adverb)	rétt
You answer correctly.	Þú svarar rétt.
He writes the word correctly.	Hann skrifar orðið rétt.

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