Questions & Answers about Ég var reiður í gær.
Why do we use var in this sentence?
Var is the past tense of the verb vera (to be) for the pronoun ég (I). It translates to 'was'. You also use exactly the same word, var, for hann (he), hún (she), and það (it).
Would a female speaker say the sentence exactly like this?
No, a woman would say Ég var reið. In Icelandic, adjectives that describe the subject must match its gender. Reiður is the masculine form, used here because a male is speaking. The feminine form drops the '-ur' ending to become reið.
Why is there an í before gær?
Unlike English, which just uses the single word 'yesterday', Icelandic uses the fixed phrase í gær (literally 'in yesterday'). You will always use these two words together to mean yesterday.
How would this sentence change to say 'We were angry yesterday'?
You would change the pronoun to við (we) and the verb to its 'we' form, vorum. The adjective must also become plural, so the sentence becomes Við vorum reiðir í gær (if it is a group of males or a mixed group speaking).
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