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Questions & Answers about Ég geri stundum mistök.
What does each word correspond to in English and what are the parts of speech?
- Ég — I; subject pronoun in the nominative.
- geri — do/make; 1st person singular, present tense of the verb gera.
- stundum — sometimes; adverb (historically the dative plural of the noun stund “moment” used adverbially).
- mistök — mistakes; neuter plural noun, here the direct object.
Why is it “geri” and not “gera”?
Because the finite verb agrees with the subject. Present tense of gera:
- ég geri
- þú gerir
- hann/hún/það gerir
- við gerum
- þið gerið
- þeir/þær/þau gera
Past tense (preterite) for reference:
- ég gerði, þú gerðir, hann gerði, við gerðum, þið gerðuð, þeir gerðu Past participle: gert (e.g., ég hef gert…).
Where does “stundum” go in the sentence? Are other word orders possible?
In a neutral main clause, Icelandic is verb-second (V2). With the subject first, the finite verb comes second, and adverbs like “stundum” typically sit after the verb:
- Ég geri stundum mistök. (neutral) You can also front the adverb for emphasis:
- Stundum geri ég mistök. (Sometimes, I make mistakes.) “Ég stundum geri mistök” is not natural; “Ég geri mistök stundum” can occur in speech but is less neutral than the two above.
What exactly is “stundum” morphologically?
It’s the dative plural of the feminine noun stund (“moment, while”), used adverbially. Literally “at times,” which matches the meaning “sometimes.” This dative-plural-as-adverb pattern is fairly common in Icelandic.
Is “mistök” singular or plural? How do I say “a mistake”?
- mistök is a plural-only (pluralia tantum) neuter noun meaning “mistake(s).” There is no standard everyday singular.
- To refer to one mistake, many speakers say eitt mistök in practice. It is very common in modern usage, though some purists dislike it.
- If you want to avoid that debate, use a different word for a single mistake, e.g. villa (“error, mistake”): “ég gerði eina villu” = “I made one mistake.”
What case is “mistök” here, and how does it decline?
It’s the direct object of gera, so it’s in the accusative plural. For neuter plurals, nominative and accusative look the same:
- Nom/Acc: mistök (definite: mistökin)
- Dat: mistökum (definite: mistökunum)
- Gen: mistaka (definite: mistakanna)
Why is there no word for “a/the” before “mistök”?
Icelandic has no indefinite article (“a/an”); bare nouns are indefinite by default. If you want “the mistakes,” use the suffixed definite article: mistökin. Example: Ég geri stundum mistökin = “I sometimes make the mistakes” (context-specific).
How would I negate or ask a question with this sentence?
- Negation: Ég geri ekki mistök. (I do not make mistakes.)
- Combining with “sometimes not”: Stundum geri ég ekki mistök. (Sometimes I don’t make mistakes.)
- Yes/no question: Geri ég stundum mistök? (Do I sometimes make mistakes?) Note the verb still appears in second position in main clauses.
Can I use the progressive “er að” here?
Use “er að” for an ongoing action:
- Ég er að gera mistök. = I’m making a mistake (right now). With “stundum,” the simple present is more idiomatic for habitual meaning:
- Stundum geri ég mistök. (“Sometimes I make mistakes.”) “Ég er stundum að gera mistök” is possible but suggests “There are times when I’m in the process of making mistakes,” which is a bit clunky for the habitual idea.
Why use “gera” and not “búa til” for “make”?
gera covers “do/make” broadly and is the verb used in set phrases like gera mistök (“make mistakes”). búa til means “to create/produce (physically prepare),” e.g., búa til köku (make a cake). “Búa til mistök” is not idiomatic.
How do adjectives agree with “mistök”? For example, “silly mistakes.”
Adjectives agree in case, number, and gender. With neuter plural indefinite “mistök,” the adjective is neuter plural indefinite:
- Ég geri stundum kjánaleg mistök. (silly mistakes)
- Ég geri stundum stór mistök. (big mistakes) If you make them definite: kjánalegu mistökin, stóru mistökin.
How do I say this in other tenses/aspects?
- Past (habitual/simple): Ég gerði stundum mistök. (I sometimes made mistakes.)
- Perfect: Ég hef stundum gert mistök. (I have sometimes made mistakes.)
- Future-like (with munu): Ég mun stundum gera mistök. (I will sometimes make mistakes.)
Are there alternatives to “stundum” for “sometimes”?
Yes; common ones include:
- af og til
- við og við
- öðru hverju
- einstaka sinnum All can slot where “stundum” goes: Ég geri af og til/við og við/öðru hverju/einstaka sinnum mistök.
What are related frequency adverbs I might confuse with “stundum”?
- oft = often
- sjaldan = rarely
- aldrei = never
- næstum aldrei = almost never
- hnikar stundum? No—don’t add a preposition: you can’t say “í stundum.” Use the bare adverb stundum.
How is the sentence pronounced?
Approximate IPA: [jɛː cɛːrɪ ˈstʏntʏm ˈmɪːstœk]
- Ég: [jɛː] (like “yeh,” with a soft, often barely audible g).
- geri: initial g before e is palatalized, sounding like “gy-”: [cɛːrɪ].
- stundum: both u’s are like German ü: [ʏ]; final -um is [ʏm].
- mistök: ö is like German “ö” in “schön”: [œ]. Main stress is on the first syllable of each word.
Is there any etymological connection to English “mistake/mistook”?
Yes. Icelandic mis- is the same Germanic prefix “mis-” (wrongly), and tök is the plural of tak (“grip, taking”), related to the verb taka (to take). English “mistake/mistook/taken” comes from the same roots: “take wrongly.” So mistök literally means “wrong-takes.”
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