Ég kaupi miða áður en lestin fer.

I buy a ticket before the train leaves.

Breakdown of Ég kaupi miða áður en lestin fer.

• ég: I
• fara: to go
• kaupa: to buy
• áður en: before
• lestin: the train
• miðinn: the ticket

Questions & Answers about Ég kaupi miða áður en lestin fer.

What tense is kaupi, and why is it used for a future action?

kaupi is the present indicative of að kaupa (“to buy”). Icelandic doesn’t have a separate future tense, so the simple present often expresses future plans or imminent actions (much like English “I leave tomorrow”). You could also say mun kaupa, but in everyday speech kaupi is more natural for “I’ll buy.”

What does áður en mean, and why can’t I use áður by itself?

áður en literally means “before” when linking two clauses. It’s a fixed subordinating conjunction, so you always use both words—áður en + subject + verb. Using áður alone doesn’t form the proper conjunction.

Why does the verb fer come at the end in áður en lestin fer?

In Icelandic subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like áður en, the finite verb moves to the end (verb-final word order). That’s why lestin (“the train”) comes before fer (“goes/leaves”).

What case is miða, and how do I know if it’s singular or plural?

Here miða is the accusative indefinite form of miði (“ticket”/“tickets”). For this weak masculine noun, both singular and plural accusative share the ending -a, so miða can mean “a ticket” or “(some) tickets.” Context or adding a number (e.g. tvo miða = “two tickets”) tells you which one you mean.

Why isn’t there an article before miða to mean “a ticket” or “some tickets”?

Icelandic has no separate indefinite article (like English “a” or “some”). You simply use the noun in its indefinite form—miða covers “a ticket” and “tickets” in general.

Why is “the train” translated as lestin instead of using a separate word for “the”?

Icelandic marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun. lest (“train”) + -in yields lestin (“the train”) in the nominative singular.

Can I put the áður en clause first, and will that change word order or punctuation?

Yes. If you front the subordinate clause, you normally insert a comma and maintain the V2 rule in the main clause. For example:
Áður en ég kaupi miða, fer lestin.
Here Áður en ég kaupi miða is the first element, and the main clause’s verb fer stays in second position.