Ég er búinn með verkefnið.

I am done with the project.

Breakdown of Ég er búinn með verkefnið.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• með: with
• verkefnið: the project
• búinn: done

Questions & Answers about Ég er búinn með verkefnið.

Is the word in the middle, búinn, a verb or an adjective here?

It’s an adjective (a past participle used adjectivally), not a verb. The actual verb in the sentence is er (from vera, “to be”). So the structure is literally “I am done/finished with the assignment,” where búinn describes your state.

Why is it er (“am”) and not hef (“have”), like English present perfect?

Icelandic often uses a stative construction with vera + búinn to express a completed result. English uses a perfect auxiliary (“I have finished”), but Icelandic commonly says “I am finished/done.” If you want a true perfect, you use hafa with a suitable verb:

• Ég hef klárað verkefnið. = I have finished the assignment.
• Ég hef lokið verkefninu. = I have completed the assignment. (more formal)

What’s the difference between búinn með and búinn að?

• búinn með + accusative noun focuses on being done with a thing/object/resource:
  • Ég er búinn með verkefnið. I’m done with the assignment.
  • Hún er búin með matinn. She’s done with the food.
• búinn að + infinitive focuses on having done an action:
  • Ég er búinn að gera það. I have done that / I’m done doing that.

They often overlap in meaning, but the grammar differs: noun after með, infinitive after að.

Why is með followed by the accusative (verkefnið) here?

With this idiom (búinn með), með selects the accusative. Think of it as a fixed pattern. Elsewhere, með can take the dative (e.g., accompaniment or instrument: með vini mínum, með hníf), but not in this construction.

Does búinn change form depending on who’s speaking?

Yes, it agrees in gender and number with the subject:

• Singular: masculine búinn, feminine búin, neuter búið.
• Plural: masc. búnir, fem. búnar, neut. búin. Examples:
• Man: Ég er búinn (með …).
• Woman: Ég er búin (með …).
• Mixed/men group: Við erum búnir (með …).
• Women only: Við erum búnar (með …).
• Neuter (things/children “börn”): Þau eru búin (með …).

How do I say “We are done with the assignment”?

• Mixed group or men: Við erum búnir með verkefnið.
• Women only: Við erum búnar með verkefnið.

Can I drop með and say “Ég er búinn verkefnið”?

No. In this sense (“done with something”), búinn needs með + accusative. Without með, switch to:

• Ég er búinn að klára verkefnið. (action)
• Or use a verb: Ég kláraði verkefnið. / Ég hef klárað verkefnið.

What are good verb alternatives to this construction?

• Very common: klára (to finish)
  • Ég kláraði verkefnið.
  • Ég hef klárað verkefnið.
• More formal/elevated: ljúka
  • Dative object: Ég hef lokið verkefninu.
  • Or with “við” + accusative (also common): Ég er búinn að ljúka við verkefnið.

How do the tenses work if I want to refer to the past?

Use past of “to be” for a past state:

• Ég var búinn með verkefnið klukkan fjögur. = I had finished the assignment by four. (resultative state in the past) Or use the pluperfect:
• Ég hafði lokið verkefninu. = I had completed the assignment.

What’s the nuance difference between this sentence and “Ég kláraði verkefnið” or “Ég hef klárað verkefnið”?

• Ég er búinn með verkefnið emphasizes the current state: I’m now done/free of it.
• Ég kláraði verkefnið (simple past) reports a past event; it doesn’t itself highlight the present state.
• Ég hef klárað verkefnið (present perfect) links a past completion to the present, but sounds more “action-completed” than “state-of-done-ness.”

Why is it the definite form verkefnið and not verkefni?

You’re referring to a specific, known assignment, so Icelandic uses the suffixed definite article: verkefnið (“the assignment”). If you meant “an assignment” (non-specific), you could say verkefni, but that’s much less likely in this context.

What’s the grammar of verkefnið?

• Lemma: verkefni (neuter “task/assignment/project”).
• Here: accusative singular definite: verkefnið.
• Useful forms:
  • Nom/Acc sg (indef.): verkefni
  • Dat sg (def.): verkefninu
  • Gen sg (indef.): verkefnis
  • Nom/Acc pl (def.): verkefnin

How would I say just “I’m done,” without naming the thing?

• Ég er búinn. (man) / Ég er búin. (woman) In context (e.g., at a restaurant or after a task), people will understand. If ambiguity is possible, add the object: Ég er búinn/búin með þetta.

How do I make the negative or ask a question?

• Negative: Ég er ekki búinn/búin með verkefnið. = I’m not done with the assignment.
• Yes/no question: Ertu búinn/búin með verkefnið? = Are you done with the assignment?

Can I say “It’s done” or “It has been done” with búinn?

Yes:

• Þetta er búið. = This is done/over.
• Impersonal passive-like: Það er búið að laga þetta. = This has been fixed. (literally “It is done to fix this”)

Is búinn related to the verb búa “to live”?

It’s the participle of búa in the sense “to prepare/make ready,” not the “live/reside” meaning (same verb, different sense historically). In this construction it has grammaticalized to mean “done/finished.”

Any common mistakes to avoid?

• Don’t omit með before a noun: say búinn með + acc, not “búinn + noun.”
• Don’t use að before a noun: búinn að must be followed by an infinitive verb.
• Match gender/number: búinn/búin/búið; búnir/búnar/búin.
• Spelling: búinn has double n; writing “búnn” is incorrect.

How do I say “already,” as in “I’m already done with the assignment”?

• Ég er þegar búinn/búin með verkefnið.
• Or more colloquial: Ég er búinn/búin með verkefnið nú þegar.

How should I pronounce the words roughly?

Very rough guide (not strict IPA):

• Ég: “yeh” (the g is weak or absent in many accents)
• er: “ehr” with a tapped/rolled r
• búinn: “BOO-in”
• með: “meth” (like “th” in “this,” voiced)
• verkefnið: “VER-kev-nith” (final ð is a soft voiced “th”)