Eftir eina mínútu ertu til hægri við apótekið.

to be

Breakdown of Eftir eina mínútu ertu til hægri við apótekið.

• þú: you
• til: to
• eftir: after

Questions & Answers about Eftir eina mínútu ertu til hægri við apótekið.

Does eftir here mean “after” or “in”?

In time expressions like this, eftir means “in (from now).” So "Eftir eina mínútu ..." = "In one minute ...". For the vaguer “later/afterwards,” Icelandic also uses "á eftir": "Hann kemur á eftir" = "He’ll come later."

Why is it eina mínútu and not einni mínútu?

Because in this “in X time” meaning, eftir is most commonly followed by the accusative. "Mínúta" is feminine; the accusative singular of "einn" is "eina", so "eftir eina mínútu." With other numbers:

• eftir tvær mínútur
• eftir þrjár mínútur
• eftir fimm mínútur You may hear the dative ("eftir einni mínútu") from some speakers, but accusative is the safest and most common in this use.

Why ertu instead of þú ert?

Icelandic main clauses are verb‑second (V2). When you front a time phrase ("Eftir eina mínútu"), the finite verb comes next and the subject follows: "... ert þú ...". In everyday speech (and much writing) the clitic form "ertu" (verb + þú fused) is very common even in statements, so "Eftir eina mínútu ertu ..." is natural. A slightly more formal variant is "Eftir eina mínútu ert þú ...".

Could I put the time phrase at the end?

Yes: "Þú ert til hægri við apótekið eftir eina mínútu." Meaning is the same; fronting the time phrase just emphasizes the time.

Why is present tense used (ertu) when the event is in the future?

Icelandic has no dedicated future tense; the present is regularly used for near‑future plans and predictions, especially with a time adverbial: "Eftir eina mínútu ertu ...". You can also make the futurity explicit: "Eftir eina mínútu muntu vera/verður þú til hægri ...", but it isn’t required.