An opinion essay is where Icelandic word order earns its keep. Because the language is verb-second, the slot before the verb — the prefield — is a precious piece of real estate, and skilled argumentative writing fills it deliberately: a fronted connective to glue this point to the last (hins vegar, "on the other hand"), a fronted topic to set up a contrast, an enumerating í fyrsta lagi ("firstly") to march through reasons. Add a layer of hedging to keep claims appropriately cautious, and a habit of nominalisation to compress, and you have the grammatical signature of the genre. Below is an original opinion text written for this guide — it invents no studies, statistics, or sources — glossed line by line, then unpacked.
(This page is about how these devices behave in connected argument. For the connectives as a system, see discourse/connectives-contrast and discourse/connectives-cause; for the softening toolkit, discourse/hedging. We link out rather than re-derive them.)
The text
A short opinion piece arguing that small towns should keep their local libraries.
| Icelandic | English |
|---|---|
| Margir telja að lítil bókasöfn úti á landi séu úrelt og að loka megi þeim án mikils skaða. | Many think that small libraries out in the countryside are obsolete and that they can be closed without much harm. |
| Hins vegar má benda á að bókasafnið er oft eini sameiginlegi vettvangurinn í litlu samfélagi. | However, one can point out that the library is often the only shared space in a small community. |
| Í fyrsta lagi snýst málið ekki aðeins um bækur, heldur um aðgang að upplýsingum fyrir alla. | In the first place, the matter is not only about books, but about access to information for everyone. |
| Í öðru lagi virðist mér að lokun safna myndi bitna helst á þeim sem síst mega við því. | Secondly, it seems to me that closing libraries would mainly hurt those who can least afford it. |
| Sparnaðinn, sem oft er nefndur sem aðalástæða, má eflaust ná fram á annan hátt. | The savings, which are often cited as the main reason, can doubtless be achieved in another way. |
| Þess vegna tel ég að við ættum að hugsa okkur tvisvar um áður en söfnunum er lokað. | For that reason I think we ought to think twice before the libraries are closed. |
| Það er að vísu rétt að reksturinn kostar sitt, en spurningin er hvað við viljum sem samfélag. | It is admittedly true that the running costs something, but the question is what we want as a society. |
Read it once for the argument; now read it again for the grammar. Four things shape it — the fronted connectives and their V2 consequence, the enumerating frame, the hedging, and the compression by nominalisation and topicalization. We take them in turn.
Fronted connectives and the V2 consequence: Hins vegar má benda á að …
The backbone of the argument is a chain of fronted connectives, each placed in the prefield to link the new point to what came before — and because Icelandic is verb-second, fronting the connective throws the finite verb ahead of the subject. This is the mechanical fact English speakers must internalise: English keeps the subject first after "however" ("However, one can point out…"), but Icelandic does not.
| Fronted connective | Then the verb… | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Hins vegar (however) | … má (verb before subject) | pivots to the counter-argument |
| Þess vegna (therefore) | … tel ég | draws the conclusion |
| Í fyrsta lagi (firstly) | … snýst málið | opens the list of reasons |
Hins vegar má benda á að bókasafnið er oft eini sameiginlegi vettvangurinn.
However, one can point out that the library is often the only shared space. (fronted hins vegar → V2: 'má' comes before any subject — the impersonal modal má 'one may')
Þess vegna tel ég að við ættum að hugsa okkur tvisvar um.
For that reason I think we ought to think twice. (fronted þess vegna → V2: 'tel ég', verb before subject)
The contrast with English is sharp and worth drilling. In Hins vegar *má benda á…, the verb *má sits in second position, before the logical subject — exactly the inversion English refuses. Leaving the subject first (Hins vegar *maður má…*) is the single most common word-order error in learner argumentation, and it is audible immediately. (The mechanism is the V2 rule; fronting connectives for cohesion is stylistic fronting at the discourse level.)
The enumerating frame: í fyrsta lagi … í öðru lagi
Argument marches through reasons, and Icelandic enumerates them with the fixed frame í fyrsta lagi … í öðru lagi … í þriðja lagi ("firstly… secondly… thirdly," literally "in the first place…"). Each is an adverbial in the prefield, so each one inverts the verb just like any other fronted element. The frame is the standard scaffolding of a written argument, signalling to the reader exactly where they are in the list.
Í fyrsta lagi snýst málið ekki aðeins um bækur, heldur um aðgang að upplýsingum.
In the first place, the matter is not only about books, but about access to information. (í fyrsta lagi fronted → 'snýst málið'; note the ekki … heldur 'not … but rather' correction frame)
Í öðru lagi virðist mér að lokun safna myndi bitna helst á þeim sem síst mega við því.
Secondly, it seems to me that closing libraries would mainly hurt those who can least afford it. (í öðru lagi fronted → 'virðist mér'; note öðru, dative of annar 'second')
Two details reward attention. First, í *öðru lagi uses öðru, the dative of *annar ("second/other") — not a form of tveir ("two"); the ordinal is irregular here. Second, the frame pairs naturally with the ekki … heldur correction ("not X, but rather Y"), seen in the first reason, which is itself an argumentative workhorse for replacing the opponent's framing with your own.
Hedging: líklega, eflaust, mér virðist, má
Good argument is calibrated, not blunt: it asserts strong points strongly and weaker ones cautiously. Icelandic hedges with a small kit of devices, and an essay that omits them reads as arrogant or naïve. The text uses several:
- eflaust ("doubtless, no doubt") and líklega ("probably") — adverbs that soften a factual claim from certain to likely.
- mér virðist / virðist mér ("it seems to me") and mér finnst ("I feel/think") — explicit framing of a claim as the writer's impression, not established fact. (Note the dative experiencer: mér "to me," a quirky-subject construction.)
- the modal má ("one may / it is possible to") and myndi ("would") — backing a claim off from "is" to "may be" / "would be."
Í öðru lagi virðist mér að lokun safna myndi bitna helst á þeim sem síst mega við því.
Secondly, it seems to me that closing libraries would mainly hurt those who can least afford it. (double hedge: virðist mér 'it seems to me' frames it as opinion; myndi 'would' keeps it hypothetical)
Sparnaðinn má eflaust ná fram á annan hátt.
The savings can doubtless be achieved in another way. (hedge eflaust 'doubtless' — paradoxically a softener, conceding the point is arguable while asserting it)
Það er að vísu rétt að reksturinn kostar sitt.
It is admittedly true that the running costs something. (að vísu 'admittedly' concedes a point before the writer counters it with en)
Compression: nominalisation and topicalization
Two more moves give the essay its mature, written texture.
Nominalisation packs a whole verbal idea into a noun phrase so it can be handled in one breath. The text writes lokun safna ("closure of libraries") instead of the clausal að söfnum sé lokað ("that libraries are closed"); it writes aðgangur að upplýsingum ("access to information") rather than a clause about accessing things. This is the formal-register habit of turning processes into things, and it lets the writer make the nominalised idea the subject or object of a further claim. (More: word-formation/nominalisation.)
Lokun safna myndi bitna helst á þeim sem síst mega við því.
The closing of libraries would mainly hurt those who can least afford it. (nominalisation: lokun safna 'closure of libraries' is the subject — a process packaged as a noun phrase)
Topicalization moves a non-subject to the prefield to make it the topic and set up a contrast — and (V2 again) inverts the verb. In the text, Sparnaðinn … ("The savings…") is fronted as an accusative object, putting the opponent's favourite argument front-and-centre precisely in order to knock it down. The fronted Sparnaðinn is what the sentence is about, and its accusative case (object of ná fram) shows it has been displaced from later in the clause.
Sparnaðinn, sem oft er nefndur sem aðalástæða, má eflaust ná fram á annan hátt.
The savings, which are often cited as the main reason, can doubtless be achieved in another way. (topicalized object Sparnaðinn fronted for emphasis → V2 'má'; it's the accusative object of 'ná fram')
Þetta atriði hef ég nú þegar nefnt.
This point I have already mentioned. (topicalized object Þetta atriði fronted → V2 'hef ég'; English can front too, but must keep do-support absent — Icelandic just inverts)
The insight: the prefield is your cohesion and emphasis engine
Step back and notice what every one of these moves has in common: they all exploit the prefield, the single slot before the verb. A fronted connective glues the sentence to the previous one (hins vegar, þess vegna); a fronted enumerator places it in the argument's sequence (í fyrsta lagi); a fronted topic spotlights the very claim you mean to contest (Sparnaðinn…). And because the language is verb-second, every one of these triggers inversion — the verb jumps to second position. So in Icelandic argumentation, managing the prefield is managing your argument's flow and emphasis. English does cohesion with the same connectives but keeps a rigid subject-first order, so the prefield never becomes the flexible tool it is in Icelandic. The mark of a B2 writer is not knowing more connectives — it is using the prefield, with its automatic V2 consequence, to package each new point against what came before.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hins vegar maður getur bent á að bókasafnið er mikilvægt.
No V2 — after a fronted connective the verb must come second (getur), before the subject.
✅ Hins vegar getur maður bent á að bókasafnið er mikilvægt.
However, one can point out that the library is important. (fronted hins vegar → V2: getur maður)
Fronting hins vegar (or any connective) forces V2 — getur maður, not maður getur. This is the top word-order error in learner essays.
❌ Þess vegna ég tel að við ættum að bíða.
No V2 after the fronted þess vegna — the verb must precede the subject (tel ég).
✅ Þess vegna tel ég að við ættum að bíða.
For that reason I think we ought to wait. (þess vegna fronted → V2: tel ég)
The same rule for result connectives: Þess vegna tel ég, not Þess vegna ég tel.
❌ Lokun safna er slæm hugmynd og bitnar á fátækum.
Under-hedged — a flat, categorical claim reads as a slogan in argumentative prose; calibrate it.
✅ Mér virðist að lokun safna myndi helst bitna á þeim sem síst mega við því.
It seems to me that closing libraries would mainly hurt those who can least afford it. (hedged with mér virðist + myndi)
Bald assertions weaken an argument. Frame the contestable claim with mér virðist and soften "is" to "would" (myndi).
❌ Í annað lagi virðist mér þetta vera ósanngjarnt.
Wrong ordinal — 'secondly' in this frame is í öðru lagi (öðru, dative of annar), not í annað lagi.
✅ Í öðru lagi virðist mér þetta vera ósanngjarnt.
Secondly, it seems to me this is unfair. (the fixed enumerator í öðru lagi)
The enumerating frame is í fyrsta lagi … í öðru lagi … í þriðja lagi — note the irregular dative öðru.
❌ Bókasafnið, sem oft er nefnt sem ástæða, ég tel mikilvægt.
Topicalized phrase but no V2 — once you front a topic, the verb must be second (tel ég).
✅ Bókasafnið, sem oft er nefnt sem ástæða, tel ég mikilvægt.
The library, which is often cited as a reason, I consider important. (fronted topic → V2: tel ég)
Topicalizing a phrase fills the prefield, so the verb inverts — even with a long fronted noun phrase, tel ég, never ég tel.
Key Takeaways
- Argumentation lives in the prefield: fronted connectives (hins vegar, þess vegna), enumerators (í fyrsta lagi, í öðru lagi), and topics all sit there — and each triggers V2 (verb before subject).
- The top learner error is no inversion after a fronted connective: it must be Hins vegar má, not Hins vegar maður má.
- Hedge to calibrate: mér virðist / mér finnst frames opinion, líklega / eflaust softens facts, má / myndi backs "is" off to "may/would."
- Nominalisation (lokun safna, aðgangur að upplýsingum) compresses processes into noun phrases that can then be argued about.
- Topicalization (Sparnaðinn … fronted as an accusative object) spotlights a claim — often the one you mean to refute — and inverts the verb.
- The deep point: managing the prefield is managing your argument's cohesion and emphasis — a tool English's fixed subject-first order doesn't offer.
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- Contrast and Concession MarkersB1 — The Icelandic markers of contrast and concession — hins vegar, aftur á móti, samt (sem áður), engu að síður, þrátt fyrir — and especially the adverb þó 'however' versus the conjunction þó að 'although', a frequent confusion, with the inversion effects of fronting each.
- Cause, Result, and Sequence MarkersB1 — The Icelandic discourse markers for cause, result, and sequencing — þess vegna 'therefore', þar af leiðandi 'consequently', af þeim sökum 'for that reason', and the listing frames fyrst / í fyrsta lagi … í öðru lagi / að lokum — plus the genuinely ambiguous því, which is 'because' clause-initial and 'therefore' as the dative of það, disambiguated by position, with the V2 inversion that fronting each one triggers.
- Hedging and Epistemic StanceB2 — How Icelandic speakers tune the certainty of a claim — the epistemic adverb scale (örugglega 'definitely' > líklega/sennilega 'probably' > kannski 'maybe'), the deduction modal hlýtur að 'must (logically)' as opposed to the obligation modal verður að, and the softeners eiginlega 'actually', svona, and frekar that take the edge off an assertion.
- V2: The Verb-Second RuleA2 — The foundational rule of Icelandic main clauses — the finite verb is always the SECOND constituent, so fronting anything other than the subject forces verb-subject inversion (Í dag fer ég, Þetta veit ég ekki), unlike English which keeps the subject first.
- Topicalization, Clefts, and FrontingB2 — The three constructions Icelandic uses to re-order a clause for emphasis: topicalization (fronting an object or adverb into the prefield with V2 inversion — Þennan mann þekki ég), the það er … sem cleft that isolates one focused element (Það var Jón sem kom), and stylistic fronting, the uniquely Scandinavian operation that fills an empty subject slot in a subordinate clause with any handy participle or adverb (þeir sem komnir eru), giving prose its formal, saga-flavoured ring.
- Nominalisation: Making Nouns from Verbs and AdjectivesB2 — How Icelandic builds nouns out of verbs and adjectives. Deverbal nouns in -ing/-un name the action (bygging 'building', skoðun 'examination'); the -andi present participle nominalises as an agent (nemandi 'student', stjórnandi 'director'); and DEADJECTIVAL abstracts in -leiki/-d/-t/-ð name the quality (fegurð 'beauty', hæð 'height', lengd 'length'). The headline insight: deadjectival abstracts systematically trigger i-umlaut (hár→hæð, langur→lengd, breiður→breidd, djúpur→dýpt) — the very same vowel change as the comparative — so the abstract noun and the comparative share a vowel. Build native nouns instead of importing English '-tion' words.