Flugvélin flýgur eftir hádegi.

after

Breakdown of Flugvélin flýgur eftir hádegi.

• hádegið: the noon
• flugvélin: the airplane
• fljúga: to fly

Questions & Answers about Flugvélin flýgur eftir hádegi.

What does flugvélin mean and why does it end with -in?

flugvélin is the definite form of flugvél (‘airplane’). In Icelandic, the definite article attaches to the noun as a suffix. For feminine nouns like flugvél, you add -in to form the singular definite: flugvél → flugvélin. Here it’s in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence.

Why is the verb flýgur used instead of a future-tense form?

Icelandic doesn’t have a separate future tense. The present tense of fljúga (‘to fly’) is flýgur, and it’s used with time expressions to talk about the future. So although the sentence means “the plane will fly after noon,” you use the present flýgur.

How do we know flýgur is from fljúga and not a regular verb ending in -ar?

fljúga is irregular. Its present 3rd person singular form changes the stem vowel and becomes flýgur, not fljúgar. Regular verbs of the -a class would form -ar endings, but fljúga follows its own pattern.

What role does eftir play in the sentence?

eftir is a preposition meaning ‘after’ when talking about time. It governs the accusative case, so it introduces the time phrase eftir hádegi (‘after noon’).