Breakdown of Ég veit að systkinin eru ekki lík.
vera
to be
ég
I
ekki
not
vita
to know (a fact, information)
að
that (conjunction)
líkur
similar
systkinið
the sibling
Questions & Answers about Ég veit að systkinin eru ekki lík.
Since the current lesson is about the word báðir (both), how would I say 'I know that both the siblings are not similar'?
You need the neuter form to match the gender of systkinin. The neuter nominative plural of báðir is bæði. You simply place it right before the noun: Ég veit að bæði systkinin eru ekki lík.
Why is the adjective for 'similar' spelled lík here instead of the dictionary form líkur?
Adjectives in Icelandic must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Because systkinin is a neuter plural word, the adjective takes the neuter plural form, which happens to be lík. If you were talking about two brothers (masculine plural), it would be bræðurnir eru ekki líkir.
How can I tell what gender systkinin is just by looking at it?
The -in ending is a great clue! It is the definite article ("the") attached to a plural word, which tells you it is a neuter noun (systkin). In Icelandic, words for groups of mixed-gender people, like siblings or children (börn), are almost always neuter.
Is að acting as an infinitive marker here, like 'to' in English?
No, in this sentence að is a conjunction meaning 'that'. It connects the main phrase (Ég veit / I know) to the secondary phrase (systkinin eru ekki lík / the siblings are not similar).
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