Questions & Answers about Í flutningabílnum berum við borðið og stöflum kössunum.
Why does the sentence start with Í flutningabílnum, and why does við come after berum?
This is because Icelandic is a verb-second language in main clauses.
If the sentence begins with something other than the subject, the finite verb usually comes next, and the subject follows it.
So:
- Við berum borðið ... = We carry the table ...
- Í flutningabílnum berum við borðið ... = In the moving truck, we carry the table ...
The fronted phrase Í flutningabílnum sets the scene, and that pushes berum into second position.
Is berum við a question?
No. It is still a normal statement.
For an English speaker, verb + subject may look like a question, but in Icelandic that word order is very common in statements when another element comes first.
So here:
- Í flutningabílnum = first element
- berum = second-position verb
- við = subject
That is completely regular declarative word order in Icelandic.
Why is it í flutningabílnum and not another form?