Við missum af strætó ef við bíðum of lengi.

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Breakdown of Við missum af strætó ef við bíðum of lengi.

• strætó: the bus
• of: too
• ef: if

Questions & Answers about Við missum af strætó ef við bíðum of lengi.

What does the verb phrase missa af mean, and how is it different from plain missa?

• missa af means “to miss (an event/vehicle/opportunity),” i.e., fail to catch/attend something: missa af strætó, missa af fluginu, missa af leiknum.
• Plain missa means “to lose” (to no longer have): missa símann = “lose the phone.”
• Don’t say missa strætó for “miss the bus”; use missa af strætó.

Why is it af strætó? What case does af take, and why doesn’t strætó change?

• af governs the dative case.
• strætó is an indeclinable colloquial noun (its form doesn’t change), so it looks the same in the dative.
• With a clearly definite bus, you can say af strætónum (dative definite).

Can I say Við missum strætó without af?

Not for the meaning “miss the bus.” Við missum strætó would literally mean “we lose the bus,” which is odd. Use Við missum af strætó.

Why is it strætó and not the more formal word for bus?

Colloquially, Icelanders say strætó. The formal word is . You could say: