Breakdown of Ég drekk teið en hann drekkur safann.
ég
I
hann
he
en
but
drekka
to drink
teið
the tea
safinn
the juice
Questions & Answers about Ég drekk teið en hann drekkur safann.
Does the word order change after the word en?
No, it doesn't. en (but) is a coordinating conjunction. This means it just links two independent sentences together. The second part, hann drekkur safann, keeps the normal subject-verb-object order, just like the first part.
Why does safi (juice) become safann here?
safann is the accusative (direct object) form of safinn (the juice). Because he is drinking the juice, the juice is receiving the action. Masculine words like safi change their definite ending from -inn to -ann when they are the object.
Why didn't teið (the tea) change its ending like the juice did?
te is a neuter word. In Icelandic, neuter words look exactly the same whether they are the subject doing the action or the object receiving it. So, teið (the tea) keeps its normal ending even though it is also receiving the action of being drunk.
Learn Ég drekk teið en hann drekkur safann and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free