Questions & Answers about Ert þú svangur? Nei, ég er ekki svangur.
Why does ekki come right after er?
In basic Icelandic statements, the negative word ekki (not) usually comes immediately after the verb. Here, it follows the verb er (am), giving us ég er ekki for "I am not".
Why does the question start with Ert þú instead of Þú ert?
To turn a statement into a question, Icelandic swaps the order of the subject and the verb, just like English does. Þú ert is "You are", so flipping it to Ert þú makes it "Are you?".
If a woman is speaking, would she still say ég er ekki svangur?
No, she wouldn't! Adjectives in Icelandic change endings depending on the gender of the person they describe. Svangur is the masculine form. A woman would use the feminine form and say ég er ekki svöng.
Are ert and er both the verb "to be"?
Yes, they are just different forms of the verb vera (to be). You use ert with þú (you are), and er with ég (I am). It also happens that er is used for he, she, and it!
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