Veröldin breytist hratt.

The world changes quickly.

Breakdown of Veröldin breytist hratt.

• hratt: quickly
• breytast: to change
• veröldin: the world

Questions & Answers about Veröldin breytist hratt.

What does veröldin mean, and why does it end with -in?

veröld means “world.” Icelandic marks definiteness by a suffix, so adding -in turns veröld into veröldin, i.e. the world.

Why is the verb breytist used here instead of breytir?

Icelandic has two related verbs:

• breyta (transitive) = “to change [something]”
• breytast (intransitive/passive) = “to change” or “to be changed.”
  In “Veröldin breytist hratt,” the world is changing on its own (intransitive), so we use the -st form, breytist, rather than the active breytir.

How is breytist conjugated, and what tense is it?

breytist is present tense, 3rd person singular of breytast. Conjugation in the present for a regular -ast verb looks like this:
• ég breytist (I change)
• þú breytist (you change)
• hann/hún breytist (he/she changes)
…
Here, veröldin = hann (it), so we get breytist.

Why is hratt at the end of the sentence, and what is its function?

hratt is an adverb meaning “quickly.” Icelandic follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb must be the second constituent. The basic order here is Subject – Verb – Adverb:
Veröldin (subject) | breytist (verb) | hratt (adverb).