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Questions & Answers about Hann er upptekinn í dag.
What part of speech is upptekinn in this sentence?
Upptekinn is a past participle of the verb taka upp, but here it functions as an adjective. In Icelandic, many past participles double as adjectives, and you use them with the copula vera (to be) to describe a state—so hann er upptekinn literally means “he is occupied/busy.”
Why is it upptekinn and not upptekin or upptekið?
Icelandic adjectives (including participial adjectives) agree in gender, number, and case with their nouns.
- Hann is masculine, singular, nominative.
- The adjective must therefore be masculine, singular, nominative: upptekinn.
For a feminine subject you’d say upptekin, and for a neuter subject upptekið.
Why do we use er here? English has a continuous form (“is being busy”), but Icelandic doesn’t—how does that work?
Icelandic doesn’t have a separate continuous aspect. Instead you pair the copula vera (to be) with an adjective or participle to describe ongoing states.
- Hann er upptekinn = “He is busy.”
There’s no need (and no correct form) for an extra “being” as in English.
How would I say “She is busy today” in Icelandic?
You adjust gender on both the pronoun and the participle:
- Hún er upptekin í dag.
Here upptekin is feminine, singular, nominative to match hún.
Can I move í dag (“today”) to the front of the sentence?
Yes. Icelandic allows time‐place‐manner word order with V2 (verb-second) structure. Putting the adverbial first gives you:
- Í dag er hann upptekinn.
That means exactly the same, but emphasizes “today.”
Could I drop er and simply say Hann upptekinn í dag?
No. When you use a predicate adjective or participle to describe a subject, Icelandic requires the copula vera. Omitting it would sound ungrammatical.
What exactly does í dag mean and why í + dag?
Í dag literally means “in day,” but idiomatically it’s “today.” Time expressions for days of the week and words like “today,” “yesterday,” “tomorrow” normally use í + accusative.
How do you pronounce upptekinn?
A rough phonetic: [ˈʏhpˌtʰɛcɪn]
Break it into syllables: upp-te-kinn. The pp is unvoiced [p̚p], and the k in the second syllable is an aspirated [kʰ].
Are there alternative ways to say “He is busy today”?
Yes, you can use other idiomatic expressions:
- Hann hefur mikið að gera í dag. (“He has a lot to do today.”)
- Hann er á fullu í dag. (“He’s flat out today.”)
Both convey essentially the same meaning as hann er upptekinn í dag.
Can I change the tense of upptekinn to talk about the past or future?
Upptekinn itself is an adjective/participle and doesn’t carry tense. To shift tense, change vera:
- Past: Hann var upptekinn í gær. (“He was busy yesterday.”)
- Future: Hann mun vera upptekinn á morgun. (“He will be busy tomorrow.””)