Breakdown of Ég sé engan verðmiða, getum við prúttað?
ég
I
við
we
sjá
to see
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
geta
to be able to
verðmiðinn
the price tag
prútta
to haggle
Questions & Answers about Ég sé engan verðmiða, getum við prúttað?
Why is the word for 'no' written as engan instead of enginn?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb sjá (to see). Since the noun it modifies, verðmiði (price tag), is masculine, the pronoun enginn must take the masculine accusative form engan.
Why does verðmiða end in an -a?
The dictionary form is verðmiði, which is a weak masculine noun. Weak masculine nouns ending in -i change their ending to -a in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases. Since it is the object being seen, it takes the accusative case here.
If the shopkeeper already knows I am looking for a price tag, could I drop the noun and just say Ég sé engan?
Yes! Similar to how you can use adjectives independently by dropping the noun (like saying þessi stóri for 'this big one'), you can do the same with enginn. Ég sé engan translates to 'I see none' or 'I do not see one'. The word engan stays in the masculine accusative form to refer back to the dropped masculine noun verðmiði.
Why do we use the form prúttað instead of the infinitive prútta after getum?
The verb geta (can or to be able to) is a bit special in Icelandic. It must always be followed by the supine form of the main verb (the past-looking form usually ending in -ð, -d, or -t), rather than the infinitive. That is why we say getum við prúttað instead of using the infinitive.
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