Question 1

Why is the question tag er það ekki? instead of matching the verb, like 'vita þau ekki?'

Accepted Answer

Unlike English, which changes the tag to match the sentence's verb and subject (like 'don't they?', 'hasn't she?', or 'aren't we?'), Icelandic keeps it beautifully simple. You can use er það ekki? (literally 'is it not?') as a universal tag for almost any statement when asking for confirmation.

Question 2

The translation says 'what the capital city is'. Why does the Icelandic use hver (who/which) instead of hvað (what)?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, when you ask for the specific identity or name of a noun (like a city, a phone number, or a person's name), you use hver. You only use hvað for abstract concepts or completely unknown things (like 'What is that?'). Because höfuðborg is a feminine noun, we use the feminine form hver.

Question 3

Could I use þekkja instead of vita here to mean 'know'?

Accepted Answer

No, because they describe different types of knowing. Vita is used for knowing facts or pieces of information, like knowing the name of a capital. Þekkja is used when you are personally familiar or acquainted with a person, a place, or a thing.

Question 4

Why does the verb er come at the very end of the first part of the sentence (...hver höfuðborgin er)?

Accepted Answer

This is because 'what the capital city is' is an indirect question. If you asked it directly, the verb would come right after the question word: Hver er höfuðborgin? But when you embed that question inside another sentence ('They know what...'), the subject (höfuðborgin) comes before the verb (er).

Þau vita hver höfuðborgin er, er það ekki?

Breakdown of Þau vita hver höfuðborgin er, er það ekki?

Questions & Answers about Þau vita hver höfuðborgin er, er það ekki?

Learn Þau vita hver höfuðborgin er, er það ekki and more in Icelandic