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Questions & Answers about Hann missti af fundinum í gær.
What construction expresses the idea of “miss (fail to attend/catch)” here?
The meaning comes from the fixed combination missa af + dative. The verb missa on its own means “to lose/drop,” but when it’s followed by af it means “to miss (an event, bus, show, etc.).” So missti af is the past-tense form “missed (failed to attend/catch).”
Why is it fundinum and not another form like fundinn?
Because af governs the dative case. The noun fundur (a meeting) is masculine; its dative singular is fundi, and with the definite article it becomes fundinum (“the meeting” in dative).
- Nominative sg.: fundur
- Accusative sg.: fund
- Dative sg.: fundi
- Genitive sg.: fundar
- Definite dative sg.: fundinum (= fundi + the definite ending -num)
Could I say Hann missti fundinn instead?
No. missa fundinn would mean “lose the meeting” (nonsensical here) or “drop/lose” something. To mean “miss (not attend/catch) the meeting,” you must use missa af: missti af fundinum.
What tense and person is missti, and what are the other past forms?
missti is past tense, third person singular of missa.
- ég missti
- þú misstir
- hann/hún/það missti
- við misstum
- þið misstuð
- þeir/þær/þau misstu
Can I move í gær to the front of the sentence?
Yes. Icelandic is a V2 language, so if you front an element like a time phrase, the finite verb stays in second position: Í gær missti hann af fundinum.
Why is it í gær but á morgun?
It’s idiomatic:
- í gær = yesterday
- í dag = today
- á morgun = tomorrow
- á mánudaginn = on Monday So “yesterday/today” use í, but “tomorrow” and days of the week use á.
How do I negate the sentence?
Place ekki after the finite verb: Hann missti ekki af fundinum í gær.
What’s the difference between missa af and sakna?
- missa af e-u = miss out on something, fail to catch/attend (event, bus, opportunity).
- sakna e-s (takes genitive) = miss someone/something emotionally. So you’d say Ég missti af fundinum (I failed to attend), but Ég sakna fundarins means you miss the meeting in the sense of longing for it (e.g., you miss those meetings in general).
Why af and not frá?
Because missa af is a set verb–preposition pairing. frá means “from” in a spatial/source sense and does not form this “miss (an event)” meaning with missa.
Can I drop the definiteness and say missti af fundi?
Yes, if you mean it indefinitely (“missed a meeting” in general). missti af fundinum refers to a specific, known meeting (“the meeting”).
Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky parts?
- æ in gær sounds like the vowel in “eye”: roughly “gyair.”
- í in í gær is a long “ee.”
- af is often pronounced like “av.”
- missti has a long hissy “ss”: roughly “MIS-sti.”
- u in fundinum is like the vowel in British “put,” but a bit more fronted.
If I change the subject, what else changes?
The verb form does. Examples:
- Ég missti af fundinum…
- Hún missti af fundinum…
- Við misstum af fundinum…
- Þau misstu af fundinum…
Can the af + object chunk move around or be replaced by a pronoun?
You keep af with its object, and you can use pronouns:
- Hann missti af honum = He missed it/him. With fronting for V2: Í gær missti hann af honum.
Is the past perfect allowed with a specific time like “yesterday”?
No. As in English, Icelandic avoids the present perfect with explicit past-time adverbials like “yesterday.” So prefer simple past: Hann missti af fundinum í gær, not Hann hefur misst af fundinum í gær.