Breakdown of Stelpurnar voru báðar veikar í gær.
vera
to be
stelpan
the girl
veikur
sick
í gær
yesterday
báðir
both (m, f, n)
Questions & Answers about Stelpurnar voru báðar veikar í gær.
Why is "both" written as báðar here instead of the dictionary form báðir?
The word for "both" changes to match the gender and case of the noun it refers to. Since stelpurnar (the girls) is a feminine noun in the nominative (subject) case, we must use the feminine nominative form báðar.
Notice how báðar and veikar share the same ending. Is that a coincidence?
Not at all! Both words describe stelpurnar, a feminine plural noun. In the nominative case, feminine plural adjectives and pronouns typically take the -ar ending. This means báðir becomes báðar, and the adjective veikur (sick) becomes veikar.
Why is báðar placed after the verb voru? Could I say "Báðar stelpurnar voru veikar"?
Yes, you can! Just like in English, you can say "Both the girls were sick" (Báðar stelpurnar voru veikar) or "The girls were both sick" (Stelpurnar voru báðar veikar). Moving the word for "both" after the verb is very natural in Icelandic.
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