Conditional and Concessive Conjunctions | Icelandic Grammar

Once you can build a basic subordinate clause, the next step is learning the conjunctions that frame a condition ("if it rains…", "unless you come…") or a concession ("although he's rich…", "whether you like it or not"). Icelandic has a tidy set of these, but two things catch English speakers out. First, mood: several of these conjunctions pull the verb into the subjunctive, especially the concessives. Second, and more insidiously, English "if" does double duty — it marks both a condition ("if it rains, I'll stay home") and an indirect question ("I don't know if he's coming") — whereas Icelandic splits these into two different words, ef and hvort. This page lays out the conditional and concessive subordinators and keeps the ef / hvort line bright. (The general word-order behaviour of subordinate clauses — the loss of V2, the inversion after a fronted clause — is covered on the subordinating conjunctions page; here we focus on these particular conjunctions and their moods.)

Conditional conjunctions

ef — 'if' (a real condition)

ef introduces a genuine condition: if this happens, then that. With an open, realistic condition it takes the indicative (ef það rignir "if it rains"); with a hypothetical or counterfactual condition it takes the past subjunctive (ef ég væri ríkur "if I were rich"). The indicative/subjunctive contrast tracks how real the condition is.

Ef það rignir á morgun, þá verð ég bara heima.

If it rains tomorrow, I'll just stay home. (open condition → indicative rignir)

Ef ég væri þú, myndi ég segja henni sannleikann.

If I were you, I'd tell her the truth. (counterfactual → past subjunctive væri)

Hringdu í mig ef þú þarft eitthvað.

Call me if you need anything. (open condition — everyday register)

nema — 'unless'

nema is "unless" — a negative condition, equivalent to "if … not." Because it carves out an exception to what you're asserting, it very often pulls the subjunctive, especially when the exception is hypothetical or the main clause is a refusal or a future plan.

Ég fer ekki nema þú komir með.

I'm not going unless you come along. (nema + subjunctive komir)

Við förum í gönguna á morgun, nema það rigni.

We'll go on the hike tomorrow, unless it rains. (nema + subjunctive rigni)

Hann svarar aldrei í síma nema hann þekki númerið.

He never answers the phone unless he knows the number. (habitual — subjunctive þekki)

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nema = "if … not." Whenever you'd say "unless X," you're asserting the main clause except in the case that X — and that hypothetical exception is why Icelandic so readily slots in the subjunctive (komir, rigni, þekki) rather than the indicative.

svo framarlega sem — 'as long as / provided that'

svo framarlega sem is the "as long as / provided that" of careful speech and writing — a condition that sets a limit or proviso on the main clause. It is more emphatic and a touch more formal than plain ef, and it commonly takes the subjunctive for the conditioned verb.

Þú mátt fá bílinn lánaðan, svo framarlega sem þú skilir honum fyrir kvöldið.

You can borrow the car, as long as you return it before evening. (proviso — subjunctive skilir)

Allt verður í lagi svo framarlega sem við höldum okkur við áætlunina.

Everything will be fine as long as we stick to the plan. (provided that — höldum)

Concessive conjunctions

þótt / þó að and enda þótt — 'although / even though'

A concession grants a point that seems to count against your main statement, then asserts the main statement anyway: "although he's rich, he's unhappy." Icelandic uses þótt (a single fused word) or its two-word twin þó að for "although / even though"; the emphatic enda þótt means "even though." The defining feature for learners: a concessive clause introduced by these normally takes the subjunctive (sé, væri, hafi), because the clause expresses a granted, set-aside point rather than a flatly asserted fact.

Þótt hann sé ríkur, er hann alls ekki hamingjusamur.

Although he's rich, he's not at all happy. (þótt + subjunctive sé)

Ég ætla að klára þetta í kvöld, þó að ég sé dauðþreytt.

I'm going to finish this tonight, even though I'm dead tired. (þó að + subjunctive sé)

Enda þótt veðrið væri vont, mætti fólk í massavís.

Even though the weather was bad, people turned up in droves. (enda þótt + past subjunctive væri)

Note (from the fronting rule on the subordinating page) that a fronted þótt-clause counts as the first element of the main clause, so the main verb inverts: Þótt hann sé ríkur, *er hann…. Don't confuse this conjunction with the *adverb þó "however / nonetheless," which colours a main clause and does not open a subordinate clause — that distinction is drawn on the contrast markers page.

hvort sem … eða — 'whether … or'

hvort sem … (eða …) is the concessive "whether … or …" frame: it concedes that both alternatives lead to the same result. Unlike the genuinely hypothetical concessives above, the two alternatives here are usually treated as real, open possibilities, so the verb most often stays in the indicative (líkar, rignir, vilt) — you are not supposing a counterfactual, you are listing real options and declaring them irrelevant to the outcome. (The subjunctive does turn up, especially in formal writing, but the indicative is the everyday default and the form you will hear in the set phrase below.)

Hvort sem þér líkar betur eða verr, þá verður þú að mæta.

Whether you like it or not, you have to show up. (fixed phrase, indicative líkar — both options set aside)

Við förum, hvort sem það rignir eða skín sól.

We're going, whether it rains or the sun shines. (both alternatives real → indicative rignir/skín)

ef vs hvort: the split English speakers miss

This is the trap. English "if" is two different words in Icelandic:

ef = conditional "if" — sets up a condition (ef það rignir "if it rains").
hvort = interrogative "whether / if" — introduces an indirect question after verbs of knowing, asking, wondering, doubting (ég veit ekki hvort hann kemur "I don't know whether he's coming").

The test: can you replace English "if" with "whether" without changing the meaning? If yes, it's an indirect question and you need hvort. If no — if "if" really means "on condition that" — it's ef.

Ég veit ekki hvort hann kemur í kvöld.

I don't know whether he's coming tonight. (indirect question → hvort)

Ég kem í kvöld ef ég verð búinn í vinnunni.

I'll come tonight if I'm done at work. (real condition → ef)

Hún spurði hvort við værum búin að borða.

She asked whether we'd eaten. (indirect question after spyrja → hvort + subjunctive værum)

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Substitute "whether." "I don't know whether he's coming" still works → hvort. "I'll come whether I'm done at work" changes the meaning → so that one is a condition → ef. Reaching for ef after vita, spyrja, or vera viss um is the classic English-speaker error.

(Don't confuse hvort "whether" with hvor "which of two" — that pair is handled on the hver vs hvor page.)

Common Mistakes

❌ Ég veit ekki ef hún kemur.

Wrong word — this is an indirect question ('whether'), so it needs hvort, not conditional ef.

✅ Ég veit ekki hvort hún kemur.

I don't know whether she's coming.

After vita, spyrja, and similar verbs, "if = whether" is hvort. ef is only for real conditions.

❌ Þótt hann er ríkur, er hann ekki hamingjusamur.

Wrong mood — a concessive þótt-clause takes the subjunctive: þótt hann sé ríkur.

✅ Þótt hann sé ríkur, er hann ekki hamingjusamur.

Although he's rich, he's not happy.

Concessive þótt / þó að / enda þótt normally govern the subjunctive (sé, not indicative er).

❌ Ég fer ekki nema þú kemur með.

Mood slip — nema commonly takes the subjunctive: nema þú komir með.

✅ Ég fer ekki nema þú komir með.

I'm not going unless you come along.

"Unless" carves out a hypothetical exception, so nema readily takes the subjunctive (komir), not the indicative kemur.

❌ Hvort þú vilt eða ekki, þú verður að mæta.

Incomplete frame and no inversion — the concessive is hvort sem … eða, and the fronted clause inverts the main verb.

✅ Hvort sem þú vilt eða ekki, verður þú að mæta.

Whether you like it or not, you have to show up.

The fixed frame is hvort sem … eða …; the bare hvort alone doesn't build the "whether … or" concession, and the fronted clause forces verður þú, inverted.

❌ Ef ég væri ríkur, ég myndi ferðast um allan heim.

Word-order error — a fronted ef-clause inverts the main clause: myndi ég ferðast.

✅ Ef ég væri ríkur, myndi ég ferðast um allan heim.

If I were rich, I'd travel all over the world.

The fronted ef-clause is the first element, so the main verb comes second, before its subject: myndi ég. (The counterfactual also correctly uses the past subjunctive væri.)

Key Takeaways

Conditional: ef "if" (indicative for open conditions, past subjunctive for counterfactuals), nema "unless" (often subjunctive), svo framarlega sem "as long as / provided that" (often subjunctive, slightly formal).
Concessive: þótt / þó að and enda þótt "although / even though" — normally subjunctive; hvort sem … eða … "whether … or …" — usually indicative (real options set aside as irrelevant).
ef ≠ hvort. English "if" covers a condition (ef) and an indirect question (hvort). Substitute "whether": if it fits, use hvort (after vita, spyrja, vera viss um).
A fronted conditional or concessive clause inverts the main clause (Ef það rignir, verð ég…; Þótt hann sé ríkur, er hann…).
Don't confuse the conjunction þótt / þó að ("although" + subjunctive clause) with the adverb þó ("however / nonetheless"), or hvort "whether" with hvor "which of two."

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