Question 1

Why use eignuðust here instead of áttu?

Accepted Answer

While English uses "had" for both, Icelandic distinguishes between acquiring something and possessing it. Eignast means "to acquire" or "to get" (in this context, to give birth to or adopt children). If you used áttu (from eiga, to have), it would describe the state of possessing three children at a certain time in the past, rather than the life event of bringing them into the family.

Question 2

What kind of verb is eignuðust and what case does it dictate?

Accepted Answer

It is the past tense, third-person plural of the -st verb eignast. While many -st verbs are passive or do not take a direct object, eignast is an exception. It acts like a normal active verb and takes its object in the accusative case. Therefore, þrjú börn is in the accusative.

Question 3

Why is the number three written as þrjú instead of þrír or þrjár?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, the numbers 1 through 4 must agree in gender and case with the noun they modify. Since barn (child) is a neuter noun, its plural börn requires the neuter form of the number. We use the neuter plural accusative form, þrjú, rather than the masculine (þrjá) or feminine (þrjár).

Question 4

Why does the sentence use the neuter pronoun þau for "they"?

Accepted Answer

When referring to a group of people of mixed genders (such as a mother and a father), Icelandic always uses the neuter plural pronoun þau. You would only use þeir for an all-male group or þær for an all-female group.

Þau eignuðust þrjú börn.

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