Questions & Answers about Ég tala en þú hlustar ekki.
Why does the verb tala end in -a but hlustar ends in -ar?
Both are Group 1 verbs (their dictionary forms are að tala and að hlusta). In the present tense, Group 1 verbs take the ending -a for I (ég) and -ar for you (þú).
If I wanted to say "he listens" or "she speaks", what endings would I use?
Why is ekki at the very end of the sentence instead of before the verb like in English?
In Icelandic, the word for not (ekki) generally goes immediately after the verb it is negating. In the phrase þú hlustar ekki, the verb is hlustar, so ekki must follow it directly.
Since the verbs have different endings, can I drop ég and þú from the sentence?
No, you generally cannot drop subject pronouns in Icelandic. Even though the verb endings change depending on the person, you still must include words like ég (I) and þú (you) for the sentence to be grammatically complete.
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