Rigning hljómar fallega þegar ég hlusta á tónlist.

Rain sounds beautiful when I listen to music.

Breakdown of Rigning hljómar fallega þegar ég hlusta á tónlist.

• ég: I
• þegar: when
• hljóma: to sound
• fallega: beautifully
• hlusta: to listen
• á: to
• tónlist: the music

Questions & Answers about Rigning hljómar fallega þegar ég hlusta á tónlist.

Why is rigning used without the definite article? Can I use rigningin instead?

In this sentence rigning (“rain”) is in the indefinite form because we’re talking about rain in general. If you want to refer to a specific rain event (i.e. “the rain”), you make it definite:
• “Rigningin hljómar fallega þegar ég hlusta á tónlist.”
Here rigningin = “the rain,” whereas rigning = “rain” as a general phenomenon.

What part of speech is hljómar, and how is it formed?

hljómar is the 3rd-person singular present tense of the verb hljóma (“to sound”).
Formation:
• Stem: hljóm-
• Present ending: -ar
So hljómar literally means “it sounds.”

Why is fallega used here instead of the adjective fallegur?

fallega is the adverbial form of fallegur (“beautiful”).
• fallegur modifies nouns (e.g. falleg kona = “beautiful woman”)
• fallega modifies verbs (e.g. hljómar fallega = “sounds beautifully” or “sounds lovely”)

Why does hlusta need á before tónlist? Why not just hlusta tónlist?

The verb hlusta (“to listen”) requires the preposition á plus its object in the accusative (though with tónlist the nominative and accusative forms are identical). You cannot drop á:
• Correct: hlusta á tónlist = “listen to music”
• Incorrect: hlusta tónlist

What role does þegar play, and why is hlusta placed immediately after ég?

þegar means “when” and introduces a subordinate clause. In Icelandic subordinate clauses the structure is:

1. Subordinating conjunction (þegar)
2. Subject (ég)
3. Finite verb (hlusta)
4. Rest of the clause (á tónlist)
   Hence þegar ég hlusta á tónlist follows the pattern “CONJ + SUBJECT + VERB + …”.

Can I change the word order, for example, start with fallega?

Yes. Icelandic main clauses follow a V2 (verb-second) rule. You can front an element like fallega for emphasis, but the verb must stay in second position:
• “Fallega hljómar rigning þegar ég hlusta á tónlist.”
Here fallega is first, hljómar stays second, then rigning, etc.

What if I want to say “If I listen to music, the rain sounds beautiful” instead of “when”?

Simply replace þegar (“when”) with ef (“if”):
• “Rigning hljómar fallega ef ég hlusta á tónlist.”
This means “Rain sounds beautiful if I listen to music.”

How would I express “I like listening to music when it rains” rather than “rain sounds beautiful when I listen to music”?

You switch the focus and use a different verb construction. For example:
• “Mér finnst gott að hlusta á tónlist þegar rignir.”
– Mér finnst gott = “I find it good” (I like)
– að hlusta á tónlist = “to listen to music”
– þegar rignir = “when it rains”

How do I pronounce hljómar and hlusta correctly?

Pronunciation tips (IPA approximations):
• hljómar [l̥jouːmar]
– voiceless l at the start, jó as /jouː/, ending -mar as /mar/
• hlusta [ˈl̥ʏsta]
– voiceless l, u like German “ü” (/ʏ/), sta as /sta/