Breakdown of Já, við erum hér saman.
vera
to be
hér
here
já
yes
saman
together / on end (after a dative plural time noun)
Questions & Answers about Já, við erum hér saman.
Is við the only word for 'we' in Icelandic?
Yes, when it is the subject of the sentence, 'we' is always við. Unlike the words for 'they' (þeir, þær, þau), which change depending on the gender of the people or things you are talking about, við is used for 'we' no matter who is in the group.
Why do we use erum instead of er in this sentence?
Erum is the specific form of the verb vera (to be) that goes with við (we). If it were 'I am', you would use ég er, but for 'we are', the verb changes to við erum.
Since we are a plural group, does the word saman (together) need a plural ending?
No. While adjectives change to match plural subjects in Icelandic, saman is an adverb (it describes how we are here). Adverbs do not change their endings for gender or number, so it stays as saman.
Does the word order change if we put hér at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! Icelandic is a 'verb-second' language, meaning the verb usually has to be the second piece of information in a statement. If you start the sentence with hér (here), the verb erum must come next, forcing the subject to swap places with it: Hér erum við saman.