Word
Hvar eyðir þú þremur dögum?
Meaning
Where do you spend three days?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Hvar eyðir þú þremur dögum?
Why is the word for three þremur here instead of þrír?
In Icelandic, the numbers 1 to 4 change their form to match the case of the noun they count. Because the days are in the dative case, the number must also be dative. Handily, the number 3 in the dative case is þremur for all three genders!
Why are three days (þremur dögum) in the dative case?
The verb eyða (to spend) requires its object to be in the dative case. Whenever you talk about spending time or money, the amount you spend must take the dative form.
The word for day is dagur. Why does it change to dögum here?
To make a noun dative plural, you usually add the ending -um. This u ending triggers a vowel shift called U-mutation, which changes the root a in dagur to an ö, resulting in dögum.
Why is the subject þú placed after the verb eyðir?
Icelandic uses the V2 (verb-second) rule. Since the question word Hvar takes up the first position in the sentence, the verb eyðir must come exactly second, pushing the subject þú to the third position.