tuttugu manns

Counting People (Tuttugu Manns)

Level 4

Það voru tuttugu manns í veislunni. (There were twenty people at the party.) manns is a special way to count people.

How It Works

How to use it. Put manns after the number. It does not change for case: Borðið er fyrir sex manns. Við vorum fimm manns í bílnum.

The verb. The verb agrees with the number, not with manns: Tuttugu manns komu. Þúsund manns hlupu í maraþoninu.

Which numbers. manns goes with numbers that do not decline: 5 to 20, the tens, hundrað and þúsund. The numbers einn, tveir, þrír and fjórir decline, and most speakers do not use them with manns. Say tveir menn, þrír gestir or fjórar konur instead.

An ordinary noun also works. You can always use a normal plural instead: tuttugu menn, tuttugu konur, tuttugu börn. Only manns has this special genitive use. You cannot say tuttugu barns.

Asking how many. Use hvað margir: Hvað komu margir? Um hundrað manns. (How many came? About a hundred people.)

Examples (6)

  1. Það voru tuttugu manns í veislunni.

    There were twenty people at the party.

    Word by Word: It were twenty of-man in the party.

  2. Hvað komu margir? — Um hundrað manns.

    How many came? — About a hundred people.

    Word by Word: What came many? — About hundred of-man.

  3. Tíu manns bíða fyrir utan.

    Ten people are waiting outside.

    Word by Word: Ten of-man wait for outside.

    The verb bíða is plural, agreeing with tíu.

  4. Borðið er fyrir sex manns.

    The table is for six people.

    Word by Word: The table is for six of-man.

  5. Við vorum fimm manns í bílnum.

    There were five of us in the car.

    Word by Word: We were five of-man in the car.

  6. Þúsund manns hlupu í maraþoninu.

    A thousand people ran in the marathon.

    Word by Word: Thousand of-man ran in the marathon.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the verb singular because manns is singular.

    Tuttugu manns kom í veisluna.
    Tuttugu manns komu í veisluna.

    The verb agrees with the number tuttugu, so it is plural: komu.

  • Using the genitive plural manna.

    Það voru tuttugu manna í veislunni.
    Það voru tuttugu manns í veislunni.

    After a number that does not decline, like tuttugu, the fixed form is the genitive singular manns.

  • Using manns after a number that declines.

    Það voru þrír manns hérna.
    Það voru þrír menn hérna.

    þrír declines, and most speakers use a normal plural after it: þrír menn.

How It Connects

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

tuttugu mannsLevel 4Counting People (Tuttugu Manns)

Learn This First

tuttugu manns builds on maður and higher numbers.

Words in This Pattern

tuttugumenn