Breakdown of Hún á bíl en hún hefur ekki pláss.
bíllinn
the car
hún
she
en
but
ekki
not
eiga
to own / to have (a relationship)
hafa
to have
plássið
the space
Questions & Answers about Hún á bíl en hún hefur ekki pláss.
Why does this sentence use two different words for "have" (á and hefur)?
In Icelandic, the verb eiga (here as á) is used for owning physical, tangible things, like a car (bíl). The verb hafa (here as hefur) is used for abstract or intangible concepts, like time, an idea, or in this case, available room or space (pláss).
What is the dictionary form of hefur, and is it a regular verb?
The dictionary form (infinitive) is hafa (to have). It is an irregular verb, which is why the vowel changes to make hefur for "she" (hún). Because it is used for so many abstract concepts, you will see and memorize its forms very quickly!
Why is the word for car bíl instead of the dictionary form bíll?
The verb eiga (to own) forces the thing being owned into the accusative case, which is the grammatical form used for direct objects. For the masculine noun bíll, the accusative form is made by dropping the final -l, leaving us with bíl.
Why does ekki (not) come after the verb here?
Unlike English, which uses "does not have", Icelandic places the negative word ekki immediately after the verb in a standard main clause. The literal word order is "she has not space".
Is pláss also in the accusative case like bíl?
Yes! The verb hafa also requires its object to be in the accusative case. However, pláss is a neuter noun, and all neuter nouns look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in their dictionary form.
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