Questions & Answers about Hér eru tveir bílar.
Why do we use tveir for "two" here instead of another form?
In Icelandic, the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 change to match the gender of the noun they are counting. Since bíll (car) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine form of two, which is tveir. For a feminine noun it would be tvær, and for neuter, tvö.
How is the plural bílar formed from the singular word for car?
Why does the verb eru come before the subject tveir bílar?
This is due to the "verb-second" rule in Icelandic. In a normal statement, the main verb is always the second piece of information. Because the sentence starts with the location word Hér (Here), the verb eru (are) steps into the second slot, pushing the subject tveir bílar (two cars) after it.
Which verb does eru come from?
It comes from the irregular verb að vera (to be). Eru is the plural form used for "they are", "we are", or "you (plural) are". Since we are talking about two cars, we use this plural form instead of the singular er (is).
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