Word
Hann er læknir en hún er nemandi.
Meaning
He is a doctor but she is a student.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hann er læknir en hún er nemandi.
vera
to be
nemandinn
the student
læknirinn
the doctor
hún
she
Questions & Answers about Hann er læknir en hún er nemandi.
Where is the word for "a" in "a doctor" or "a student"?
Icelandic doesn't have an indefinite article (words like "a" or "an"). So, instead of saying "He is a doctor", you simply say "He is doctor" (Hann er læknir). The "a" is naturally understood from the context.
Why does the verb er stay the same for both hann (he) and hún (she)?
The verb vera (to be) uses the exact same form, er, for all third-person singular pronouns. Whether you are using hann (he), hún (she), or það (it), the verb will always be er.
The word en looks a lot like "and". Does it mean "and" or "but"?
The word en means "but". It is a common trap for English speakers because it sounds so much like "and"! If you want to say "and" in Icelandic, you need to use the word og.
Does the word nemandi (student) change depending on whether the student is a man or a woman?
No, words like læknir and nemandi stay the same no matter who you are talking about. Even though Icelandic nouns have a fixed grammatical gender, job titles and roles do not change their spelling to match the person's actual gender.