Breakdown of Enginn veit hver skaut hann.
hann
he
hver
who / what / which (one)
vita
to know (a fact, information)
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
skjóta
to shoot
Questions & Answers about Enginn veit hver skaut hann.
Why is veit used here instead of þekkir or kann, since they all mean "know"?
In Icelandic, vita (here conjugated as veit) is used for knowing facts or information. Þekkja is used for knowing people or places, and kunna is used for knowing a skill. Since "who shot him" is factual information, veit is the correct choice.
What is the infinitive form of the verb skaut?
The infinitive is skjóta (to shoot). It is a strong verb, meaning it changes its core vowel in the past tense instead of adding a standard ending. The past tense for "he/she/it shot" is skaut.
Why is the object hann and not honum? Doesn't hann usually mean "he" as a subject?
The pronoun hann is actually identical in both the nominative (subject) and accusative (direct object) cases. The verb skjóta takes the accusative case for the person or animal being hit by the shot, so hann is the accusative object here. (Interestingly, the projectile being fired takes the dative case!)
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