Breakdown of Samvinnan er góð og strákarnir treysta hver öðrum.
vera
to be
og
and
góður
good
strákurinn
the boy
treysta
to trust
hver annar
each other (of several)
samvinnan
the cooperation
Questions & Answers about Samvinnan er góð og strákarnir treysta hver öðrum.
Why is öðrum in the dative case here?
The verb treysta (to trust) requires its object to be in the dative case. In the reciprocal pronoun hver annar (each other), only the second word takes the case governed by the verb, so annar becomes the dative öðrum.
If the verb requires the dative case, why does hver stay in the nominative case?
That is the trick behind split case government. The first part of the phrase (hver) conceptually acts as a subject (literally meaning each) and stays in the nominative case to agree with the main subject of the sentence, strákarnir. Only the second part (öðrum) acts as the object taking the dative.
The subject strákarnir is plural. Why are hver and öðrum both singular?
Reciprocal pronouns in Icelandic are built from singular words. You can think of it literally as each (one boy) trusts another (one boy). Because of this, hver and öðrum are both in the masculine singular form to match the gender of strákarnir.
Could I use hvor öðrum instead of hver öðrum in this sentence?
Only if you are talking about exactly two boys. You use hvor annar for pairs, and hver annar when there are three or more. Since this sentence uses hver öðrum, it implies a group of at least three boys.
Learn Samvinnan er góð og strákarnir treysta hver öðrum and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free