Breakdown of Tveir strákar hafa ennþá ekki prófað leikinn.
strákurinn
the boy
ekki
not
tveir
two
prófa
to try
hafa
to have
leikurinn
the game
ennþá
yet
Questions & Answers about Tveir strákar hafa ennþá ekki prófað leikinn.
Why does ennþá ekki come between hafa and prófað?
In Icelandic present perfect sentences, adverbs like ennþá (yet/still) and the negative word ekki (not) usually go right after the helping verb (hafa) and before the main action verb (prófað). In English, we usually put 'yet' at the very end of the sentence, but Icelandic prefers to keep these adverbs tucked in the middle.
Could I swap the order and say ekki ennþá instead of ennþá ekki?
Yes, but it changes the emphasis slightly. Ennþá ekki is the most natural way to say 'not yet' or 'still have not'. If you say ekki ennþá, it sounds a bit more forceful, like 'NOT yet!'
Why does prófað end with a -ð?
When you use the helping verb hafa (to have) to form the present perfect, the main verb has to be in a special form called the supine. For a regular verb like prófa (to try), you simply add -ð to the end to get prófað.
Why is it tveir and not tvö or tvær?
In Icelandic, the numbers 1 through 4 change to match the gender of the noun they count. Because strákar (boys) is a masculine noun, you must use the masculine form of the number two, which is tveir.
Why is the word for 'the game' written as leikinn?
The basic word for 'game' is leikur (a masculine noun). Here, it is the direct object of the verb prófa (to try), so it takes the accusative case, becoming leik. Then, because we are talking about 'the' game, we add the masculine accusative definite article -inn to the end, making it leikinn.
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