eða

Or (Eða)

Level 1

eða means or: Viltu kaffi eða te? (Do you want coffee or tea?)

How It Works

Joining choices. eða goes between the choices:

  • Words: kaffi eða te (coffee or tea)
  • Phrases: í dag eða á morgun (today or tomorrow)
  • Sentences: Við förum í sund eða við verðum heima. (We go swimming or we stay home.)

Word order does not change. Like og and en, eða is not counted as the first part of the sentence, so the clause after it keeps its normal order: eða við verðum heima. See verb-second word order.

Same case on both sides. When eða joins two nouns, both take the case the sentence needs. After hitta (meet), both are accusative: Viltu hitta Jón eða Önnu?

Either ... or. To say either ... or, put annaðhvort before the first choice: Við förum annaðhvort í dag eða á morgun. See annaðhvort ... eða. For two negatives (neither ... nor), use hvorki ... né.

In speech. A short eða hvað? at the end of a sentence asks someone to confirm: Þú kemur, eða hvað? (You are coming, aren't you?). See question tags.

Examples (6)

  1. Viltu kaffi eða te?

    Do you want coffee or tea?

    Word by Word: Want-you coffee or tea?

    viltu is vilt þú joined together.

  2. Kemurðu í dag eða á morgun?

    Are you coming today or tomorrow?

    Word by Word: Come-you in day or on morrow?

  3. Er þetta bókin þín eða bókin mín?

    Is this your book or my book?

    Word by Word: Is this book-the your or book-the my?

  4. Viltu hitta Jón eða Önnu?

    Do you want to meet Jón or Anna?

    Word by Word: Want-you meet Jón or Anna?

    Both names are accusative after hitta: Anna becomes Önnu.

  5. Við förum í sund eða við verðum heima.

    We will go swimming or we will stay home.

    Word by Word: We go in swimming or we stay home.

    The clause after eða keeps normal order: við verðum.

  6. Þú kemur, eða hvað?

    You're coming, aren't you?

    Word by Word: You come, or what?

    eða hvað? at the end asks the listener to confirm.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the second choice in the nominative after a verb that needs the accusative.

    Viltu hitta Jón eða Anna?
    Viltu hitta Jón eða Önnu?

    eða does not reset the case. hitta takes the accusative, so both names are accusative: Jón and Önnu.

  • Saying "either ... or" with eða before both choices.

    Við förum eða í dag eða á morgun.
    Við förum annaðhvort í dag eða á morgun.

    Some languages repeat "or" before each choice. Modern Icelandic uses annaðhvort before the first choice and eða before the second.

How It Connects

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

eðaLevel 1Or (Eða)

Learn This First

eða comes after og.

Words in This Pattern

eðaannaðhvort