Tölvan bilar stundum.

The computer sometimes breaks down.

Breakdown of Tölvan bilar stundum.

• stundum: sometimes
• tölvan: the computer
• bila: to break down

Questions & Answers about Tölvan bilar stundum.

Where is "the" in Icelandic here? Why is it Tölvan and not tölva?

Icelandic puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• tölva = a computer (indefinite)
• tölvan = the computer (definite)

For feminine nouns ending in -a like tölva, you typically add just -n to make the definite form: tölvan. (Other nouns take -inn/-in/-ið depending on gender and stem.)

What gender is tölva, and what pronoun would I use for it?

Tölva is feminine. If you refer back to it, you use the feminine pronoun:

• Nominative: hún (she/it)
• Accusative: hana
• Dative: henni
• Genitive: hennar Example: Tölvan bilar stundum. Hún er gömul.

What case is tölvan in, and why?

Tölvan is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. With an active verb like bilar (“breaks down”), the subject is nominative.

Why is the verb in second position? Could I say “Tölvan stundum bilar”?

Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). The finite verb must come in second position.

• Correct: Tölvan bilar stundum.
• Correct (adverb fronted): Stundum bilar tölvan.
• Wrong/unnatural: Tölvan stundum bilar. (The adverb can’t sit between the first constituent and the finite verb in a main clause.)

Can I put stundum at the start? Does it change the meaning?

Yes:

• Tölvan bilar stundum and Stundum bilar tölvan are both natural. Fronting stundum adds slight emphasis to “sometimes,” but the meaning is the same.

What exactly is stundum? Is it related to a noun?

Stundum means “sometimes” and historically comes from the dative plural of stund (“moment, time”)—literally “at times.” This -um ending is common in adverbs that come from old case forms.

What does bilar mean here, and how is bila conjugated?

Bilar is 3rd person singular present of að bila (“to break down, to malfunction”).

• Present: ég bila, þú bilar, hann/hún/það bilar, við bilum, þið bilið, þeir/þær/þau bila
• Past (3rd sg): bilaði — e.g., Tölvan bilaði í gær.

I’ve seen bilast too. What’s the difference between bila and bilast?

• bila (active) = break down, malfunction. Common and perfectly natural for machines.
• bilast (the -st/middle form) = break down (happen by itself), also very common with machines. In this sentence, both are fine: Tölvan bilar stundum / Tölvan bilast stundum. The -st form often emphasizes the event happening “on its own,” but in everyday use there’s little difference here.

How would I say “The computer is sometimes broken” (a state, not an event)?

Use the verb “to be” plus the adjective:

• Tölvan er stundum biluð. Here biluð is the feminine form of the adjective “broken” agreeing with tölvan.

Could bilar be confused with bílar (“cars”)? They look similar.

They’re different words:

• bilar (without accent) = “breaks down” (3rd singular of bila).
• bílar (with accent on í) = “cars” (plural of bíll). The accent marks in Icelandic are phonemic and must be written; they change both sound and meaning.

How do I pronounce the vowels here, especially ö and u?

• ö in tölva is a front rounded vowel (somewhere between English “uh” and French “eu”).
• u in stundum is a short, rounded vowel (not like English “oo”). Stress is on the first syllable of Icelandic words: TÖL-van, BÍ-lar (note: i without an accent is a different vowel from í), STUN-dum.

How would I say “Computers sometimes break down” or “A computer sometimes breaks down”?

• Specific “the computer”: Tölvan bilar stundum.
• Generic plural: Tölvur bila stundum. (“Computers sometimes break down.”)
• Indefinite singular for a general truth is less natural in Icelandic; prefer the plural. If you really need singular generic, context usually pushes you to plural or rephrase.