Hún hætti í vinnunni, þó að hún væri spennt.

to be

Breakdown of Hún hætti í vinnunni, þó að hún væri spennt.

• hún: she
• vinna: the work
• í: at

Questions & Answers about Hún hætti í vinnunni, þó að hún væri spennt.

Why is væri used instead of var or er?

Because after the concessive conjunction þó að (although/even though), Icelandic requires the subjunctive mood. Væri is the past subjunctive of vera (to be). Since the main clause is in the past (Hún hætti …), the natural choice is the past subjunctive væri. If the main clause were present or you were talking about a present-time fact, you’d use the present subjunctive sé: … þó að hún sé spennt.

What’s the difference between þó að and þótt? Can I drop að?

Þótt is effectively a contracted form and means the same as þó að. Both trigger the subjunctive. In everyday speech the að is often omitted: þó hún væri spennt. All three variants are fine; þótt is very common in writing.

Exactly what form is hætti, and how is hætta conjugated?

Here hætti is 3rd person singular past indicative: hún hætti = she quit. Note that 3rd person present is hættir, so hún hættir = she quits/is quitting. Mini-paradigm:

• Present: ég hætti, þú hættir, hún hættir, við hættum, þið hættið, þau hætta
• Past: ég/hún hætti, þú , við , þið , þau