Breakdown of Gaurinn þarna á þrjá bíla.
bíllinn
the car
þrír
three
eiga
to own / to have (a relationship)
þarna
over there (pointing)
gaurinn
the dude (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Gaurinn þarna á þrjá bíla.
Why use á instead of hefur to say he has three cars?
In Icelandic, the verb eiga (here conjugated as á) is used for owning physical things like cars, houses, or pets, as well as for family relationships. The verb hafa is mainly used as a helper verb or for abstract concepts like having time.
Why is the word for three written as þrjá here instead of the dictionary form þrír?
In Icelandic, the numbers one through four change their endings to match the gender and case of the noun they count. Since bíla (cars) is a masculine noun acting as the direct object in the accusative case, the number three must also be in the masculine accusative form, which is þrjá.
Is gaur a standard word for a man?
It is a very common word but highly informal, perfectly matching the English words dude or guy. If you were writing a formal text, you would use maður (man) instead. Here, gaurinn has the definite article attached, meaning the dude.
Why does þarna (over there) come right after gaurinn instead of at the end of the sentence?
When pointing out a specific person or thing, Icelandic often puts location adverbs like þarna or hérna immediately after the definite noun. It binds to the noun to mean the dude over there, rather than describing where he owns the cars.
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