hver

Who (Hver)

Level 1

hver means who: Hver er þetta? (Who is this?) Like other pronouns, it changes form with its case.

How It Works

The four forms

  • hver (nominative), the one doing it: Hver kemur? (Who is coming?)
  • hvern (accusative), the object: Hvern sástu? (Who did you see?)
  • hverjum (dative), after með, frá, hjá and verbs like hjálpa: Með hverjum býrðu? (Who do you live with?)
  • hvers (genitive), whose: Hvers bíll er þetta? (Whose car is this?)

Choose the form the same way you choose between hann, hann, honum, hans. See The Four Cases and Object Pronouns (Accusative).

More than one person
If you expect several people, use the plural: Hverjir koma? (Who all are coming?). If you know they are all women, say Hverjar koma? Singular hver is the safe everyday choice.

A friendlier way to ask whose
In speech, people also ask Hver á þennan bíl? (Who owns this car?).

hver has other meanings too: it can mean which (Hver þeirra?, Which of them?) and each, as in Each and Every (hver). Its neuter form is What (hvað).

Examples (6)

  1. Hver er þetta?

    Who is this?

    Word by Word: Who is this?

  2. Hver er kennarinn?

    Who is the teacher?

    Word by Word: Who is the-teacher?

  3. Hvern sástu?

    Who did you see?

    Word by Word: Whom saw-you?

    hvern is the object of sjá, so it is accusative.

  4. Hverjum ertu að hjálpa?

    Who are you helping?

    Word by Word: Whom are-you to help?

    hjálpa takes the dative, so hver becomes hverjum.

  5. Með hverjum býrðu?

    Who do you live with?

    Word by Word: With whom live-you?

    með (together with) takes the dative.

  6. Hvers bíll er þetta?

    Whose car is this?

    Word by Word: Whose car is this?

Common Mistakes

  • Using hver for the object.

    Hver sástu?
    Hvern sástu?

    The person you saw is the object, so hver must be in the accusative: hvern.

  • Keeping hver after a preposition that takes the dative.

    Með hver býrðu?
    Með hverjum býrðu?

    með in the sense of together with takes the dative, so hver becomes hverjum.

How It Connects

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

hverLevel 1Who (Hver)

Learn This First

hver builds on hvað and the four cases.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

hverhvernhverjumhvers