Questions & Answers about Bíddu hér þangað til ég kem.
What grammatical form is “Bíddu,” and who is it addressed to?
“Bíddu” is the 2nd person singular imperative of the verb bíða (to wait). You use it to tell one person to wait. To address more than one person, use the plural imperative Bíðið: “Bíðið hér þangað til ég kem.” A short, slightly brusquer variant to one person is simply Bíð!
Why is it spelled “Bíddu” with a double d? Where did the ð go?
Historically it comes from the phrase bíð þú (“wait, you”). In fast, natural speech the sequence ð + þ merges and surfaces as dd, giving bíddu. The same sandhi shows up in other imperatives:
- kom þú → komdu (come!)
- far þú → farðu (go!)
- seg þú → segðu (say!)
Why is the verb in the subordinate clause present tense (“ég kem”) if it refers to the future?
In Icelandic, time clauses introduced by words like þangað til/þar til (“until”), þegar (“when”), á meðan (“while”), etc., normally use the simple present to talk about the future. So þangað til ég kem means “until I come/will come.” Using a future auxiliary (like “mun”) there sounds odd: “þangað til ég mun koma” is not idiomatic.
Could I say “þar til” instead of “þangað til”? And can I add “að”?