Hver – Hvað

Hver and hvað are actually aspects of the same word in Icelandic.

The base word is hver, N hver hver hvert/hvað

A hvern hverja hvert/hvað

Sing
which is declined just
like any other adjective D hverjum hverri hverju
or pronoun. Hvað is an G hvers hverrar hvers
alternate neuter form N hverjir hverjar hver
used about abstract A hverja hverjar hver

Plur
concepts. D hverjum
G hverra

Interrogative pronouns
When they are encountered as interrogative pronouns, they are used
in much the same way as who and what in English.
Examples:
Hver er þetta? [who is this/that?]
Hver eldaði matinn? [who cooked the food?]
Hvað ertu að segja? [what are you saying?]
Hvað kom fyrir? [what happened?]
Hvað heitir þú? [what are you named?]
Klukkan hvað kemur þú? [what time will you come?]

Because the pronoun can be declined, we can be even more specific

with our questions than English speakers can.
Examples:
Hverjar eru þetta? [who (what women) are this/that?]
Hverjir elduðu matinn? [who (what men) cooked the food?]

Also, we can use declined forms of the pronouns with verbs that take a
pseudo-subject in an oblique case
Examples:
Hvern langar í bíó? [who wants to go to the movies?]
Hverjum er ekki sama? [who is enjoying this movie?]

Last, but not least, we can combine the pronouns with prepositions,
using the appropriate case of the pronoun in each case
Examples:
Við hvern (hverja/hverjar) varst þú að tala? [with whom were
you speaking?]
Handa hverjum (hverri) ertu að kaupa gjöf? [for whom are you
buying a gift?]
 Frá hverjum (hverri) fékkstu þessa bók? [from whom did you
receive this book?]

Why?
When the neuter singular hvað is combined with certain prepositions,
interrogative phrases are created that can be used to ask why. Each of
the phrases is slightly different in emphasis, again giving more
specificity than English.

Af
The preposition af means because of or from and always assigns the
dative. The resulting interrogative phrase af hverju means why in the
sense of “from what motivation”, “because of what” or “for what
reason”. An alternate version is út af hverju which mean “out of what
[reason]”
Examples:
Af hverju ertu svona dapur? [why are you so sad?]
Af hverju kemur hann ekki með? [why isn’t he coming along?]

Questions asked using the interrogative phrase af hverju are generally

formed using the phrase af því að.
Examples:
(Ég er svona dapur) af því að KR tapaði fótboltaleiknum. [(I am
so sad) because KR lost the football game.]
(Hann kemur ekki með) af því að hann þarf að vinna snemma í
fyrramálið. [(He isn’t coming along) because he has to work
early in the morning.]

Vegna
The preposition vegna means because of, due to, for the sake of, on
account of and always assigns the genitive. The resulting interrogative
phrase hvers vegna is very similar to af hverju, meaning “because of
what”, “for what/who’s sake”.
Examples
Hvers vegna fórstu heim snemma? [why did you go home
early?]
Hvers vegna viltu ekki lambakjöt? [why don’t you want lamb?]

Questions asked using the interrogative phrase hvers vegna are

generally formed using the phrase vegna þess að.
Examples
(Ég for heim snemma) vegna þess að mamma mín hringdi. [(I
went home early) because my mom called.]
 (Ég vil ekki lamb) vegna þess að ég er grænmetisæta. [(I don’t
want lamb) because I am a vegetarian.]

Til
The preposition til means to and always assigns the genitive. the
resulting interrogative phrase til hvers means “to what end/purpose”.
Examples
Til hvers ertu kominn? [To what end have you come?]
Til hvers er þetta verkfæri? [What is the purpose of this tool?]

Questions asked using the interrogative phrase til hvers are generally
formed using the phrase til þess að.
Examples
(Ég er kominn) til þess að kaupa geisladisk. [(I have come) in
order to buy a CD.]
Þetta verkfæri er til þess að slípa spýtur. [This tool is used to
sand boards]