einhver / eitthvað

Someone and Something

Level 3

einhver means someone or some, eitthvað means something: Einhver hringdi. Viltu eitthvað að drekka?

How It Works

Someone and something.

  • Einhver hringdi í þig. (Someone called you.)
  • Viltu eitthvað að drekka? (Would you like something to drink?)

Cases. einhver declines like hver with ein- in front:

  • masculine: einhver, einhvern, einhverjum, einhvers – Ég talaði við einhvern.
  • feminine: einhver, einhverja, einhverri, einhverrar
  • neuter: eitthvað or eitthvert, einhverju, einhvers
  • plural: einhverjir, einhverjar, einhver – Einhverjir krakkar voru úti.

eitthvað or eitthvert? Alone, use eitthvað: Ég sá eitthvað. Before a neuter noun, careful Icelandic uses eitthvert: eitthvert hús, eitthvert barn. In speech you will also hear eitthvað before a noun.

Some + noun. Before a noun, einhver means some that you cannot or do not need to name: Hún býr í einhverju litlu þorpi fyrir norðan.

Place and time words.

  • einhvers staðar = somewhere (at a place): Lyklarnir eru einhvers staðar hérna.
  • eitthvert or eitthvað = somewhere (to a place): Ég fer eitthvert í sumar. Both are used (direction adverbs).
  • einhvern tíma = sometime, einhvern veginn = somehow

Not after ekki. For not anyone or nothing, use enginn/ekkert or nokkur/neinn: Ég sá engan or Ég sá ekki neinn.

Examples (6)

  1. Einhver hringdi í þig.

    Someone called you.

    Word by Word: Someone rang in you.

  2. Viltu eitthvað að drekka?

    Would you like something to drink?

    Word by Word: Want-you something to drink?

  3. Ég fer eitthvert í sumar.

    I'm going somewhere this summer.

    Word by Word: I go somewhere in summer.

  4. Lyklarnir eru einhvers staðar hérna.

    The keys are somewhere around here.

    Word by Word: The-keys are some place here.

  5. Ég talaði við einhvern í bankanum.

    I talked to someone at the bank.

    Word by Word: I talked with someone (acc.) in the-bank.

    við takes the accusative, so einhver becomes einhvern.

  6. Hún býr í einhverju litlu þorpi fyrir norðan.

    She lives in some small village up north.

    Word by Word: She lives in some little village for north.

Common Mistakes

  • Not changing einhver after a preposition.

    Ég talaði við einhver í símanum.
    Ég talaði við einhvern í símanum.

    við takes the accusative, so einhver becomes einhvern.

  • Using eitthvað for a person.

    Eitthvað hringdi í þig.
    Einhver hringdi í þig.

    eitthvað means something. For someone, use einhver.

  • Using einhver after ekki to mean "anyone".

    Ég sá ekki einhvern.
    Ég sá engan.

    Ég sá ekki einhvern suggests one particular person you did not see. For "I didn't see anyone", say Ég sá engan or Ég sá ekki neinn.

How It Connects

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

einhver / eitthvaðLevel 3Someone and Something

Learn This First

einhver builds on enginn and hver.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

einhvereitthvaðeitthverteinhverseinhvern