eins ... og

As ... as (Eins ... Og)

Level 2

eins + adjective + og means as ... as: Hún er eins gömul og ég (She is as old as me).

How It Works

The pattern. eins + adjective or adverb + og + the thing compared:

  • Hún er eins gömul og ég (She is as old as me)
  • Þessi bók er eins góð og hin (This book is as good as the other one)
  • Ég kem eins fljótt og ég get (I'll come as quickly as I can)

Agreement. eins does not change, but the adjective agrees with the subject: Hann er eins gamall og ég, Hún er eins gömul og ég, Það er eins gamalt og ég.

After og. As with comparative + en, the word after og takes the case of the word it is compared with: eins gömul og ég, not og mig.

Not as ... as. Add ekki after the verb: Það er ekki eins kalt og í gær (It isn't as cold as yesterday). This is a gentle way to say something is less.

jafn ... og. jafn (equally) works the same way: Hann er jafn hár og ég (He is just as tall as me).

eins og alone. Without an adjective, eins og means like or as: Hún syngur eins og engill (She sings like an angel). With a verb in the subjunctive it means as if (eins og + subjunctive).

Examples (5)

  1. Hún er eins gömul og ég.

    She is as old as me.

    Word by Word: She is as old as I.

  2. Það er ekki eins kalt og í gær.

    It isn't as cold as yesterday.

    Word by Word: It is not as cold as yesterday.

  3. Ég kem eins fljótt og ég get.

    I'll come as quickly as I can.

    Word by Word: I come as quickly as I can.

  4. Þessi bók er eins góð og hin.

    This book is as good as the other one.

    Word by Word: This book is as good as the-other.

  5. Hann er jafn hár og ég.

    He is just as tall as me.

    Word by Word: He is equally tall as I.

    jafn ... og means the same as eins ... og.

Common Mistakes

  • Using en instead of og.

    Hún er eins gömul en ég.
    Hún er eins gömul og ég.

    en (than) goes with a comparative. eins always pairs with og.

  • Forgetting that the adjective agrees with the subject.

    Hún er eins gamall og ég.
    Hún er eins gömul og ég.

    The adjective agrees with hún, so it takes the feminine form gömul.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

eins ... ogLevel 2As ... as (Eins ... Og)

Learn This First

eins ... og builds on comparing and og.

Words in This Pattern

einseins ogekki