Questions & Answers about Ef flugvélinni seinkar, þá bíðum við rólega.
What does ef mean here?
Where is the word the in flugvélinni?
In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.
- flugvél = plane / airplane
- flugvélin = the plane
- flugvélinni = the plane(dative)
So flugvélinni already includes the meaning of the plane.
Why is it flugvélinni and not flugvélin?
Because seinka uses the delayed thing in the dative case.
So Icelandic says:
- flugvélinni seinkar
rather than using the nominative flugvélin in this pattern.
This is something learners often just have to memorize with the verb: seinka goes with dative in this meaning.
What does seinkar mean exactly in this sentence?
Seinkar is the present tense, 3rd person singular of að seinka.
In this sentence it means something like:
- is delayed
- gets delayed
- runs late
English often uses a passive expression here, but Icelandic commonly uses seinka with a dative noun instead.
What does þá do here?
Þá means then.
It helps make the sentence a clear if ... then ... structure:
- Ef ... , þá ... = If ... , then ...
It adds clarity and sounds natural, but it is often optional.
Can I leave out þá?
Yes. You can also say:
Ef flugvélinni seinkar, bíðum við rólega.
That is still correct. Þá just makes the result part more explicit.
Why is the word order þá bíðum við instead of þá við bíðum?
Because Icelandic main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule.
That means the finite verb normally comes in the second position of the clause.
Here:
- þá is in the first position
- bíðum comes second
- við comes after the verb
So þá bíðum við is the normal Icelandic order.
If the clause stood by itself, you would usually say:
Við bíðum rólega.
What form is bíðum?
Bíðum is the 1st person plural present form of að bíða.
So it means:
- we wait
- we are waiting
In this sentence: bíðum við = we wait.
Why is við after the verb? And does við mean we here?
Yes, here við means we.
Icelandic við can also be a preposition in other sentences, but not here. In this sentence it is the subject pronoun.
It comes after the verb because of normal Icelandic word order in the main clause:
- first element: þá
- second element: bíðum
- subject after that: við
Why is rólega used instead of an adjective form?
Because rólega is an adverb, not an adjective.
It describes how we wait:
- bíðum rólega = wait calmly
It comes from the adjective rólegur = calm, but the adverb form is rólega.
Why is there a comma after seinkar?
Because the sentence begins with a subordinate if-clause, and Icelandic normally separates that from the main clause with a comma:
- Ef flugvélinni seinkar, þá bíðum við rólega.
This comma is standard Icelandic punctuation.
Why are present-tense forms used if the situation may happen in the future?
Because Icelandic often uses the present tense for future meaning when the context already makes the time clear.
So this sentence can mean what we do if the plane ends up being delayed later.
That is very natural in Icelandic. English does something similar in the if-clause:
- If the plane is delayed...
Icelandic just keeps the present tense in the main clause too:
- þá bíðum við rólega = then we wait / then we will wait calmly
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