okkur

Okkur is the dative and accusative plural form of the Icelandic first-person pronoun við, used to refer to the speaker and others as the object in a sentence. In English terms, it corresponds to “us” when it is affected by the verb or by a preposition.

Usage and function: Okkur appears as the indirect object of transitive verbs, indicating recipients or persons affected by an action. It can also follow prepositions that require the dative or accusative case. A common example is a sentence where someone gives something to the group: Hún gaf okkur bók, meaning “She gave us a book.” In contrast, the subject is expressed by við, not okkur. Okkur is therefore distinct from the possessive form used to express “our” in front of a noun.

Etymology: The form is derived from Old Norse and has developed into the modern Icelandic okkur. It shares a lineage with related Scandinavian pronominal forms that mark the object role for “us.”

Related forms and notes: Okkur should not be confused with við (the nominative subject “we”) or with the possessive determiner that expresses ownership (the form used to say “our [something]”). As a grammatical object, okkur is a standard element in everyday Icelandic sentence structure when the group is the recipient or affected party.

See also: Icelandic pronouns, Icelandic grammar, Old Norse.