Learn Icelandic: Hvað gera þau núna? - What are they doing now?

Hvað gera þau núna?

What are they doing now?

Breakdown of Hvað gera þau núna?

to do / to make (something) + adjective

Questions & Answers about Hvað gera þau núna?

Why is the verb gera right after hvað instead of the pronoun þau?

In Icelandic questions that start with a question word like hvað (what), the verb must always come in the second position. This is called the V2 rule. So it is always Hvað gera þau... (What do they...) instead of putting the pronoun first.

The translation says "are they doing". Where are the words for "are" and "doing"?

Icelandic doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense like English does. The simple present tense verb gera covers both "do" and "are doing". You can tell from the context, and the word núna (right now), that it means an action happening at this exact moment.

Why does this sentence use þau for "they"?

Þau is the neuter plural pronoun. In Icelandic, you use þau when talking about a mixed group of males and females, or when you don't know the gender of the people you are asking about. If you knew the group was entirely male, you would use þeir, and if entirely female, þær.

I have also seen the word nú for "now". Why use núna here?

Núna specifically means "right at this exact moment". The word nú is a bit softer and can mean a more general "nowadays" or act as a filler word. Since we are asking what they are actively doing at this very second, núna is the most natural choice.