Ég held að einhver sé í garðinum.

I

Breakdown of Ég held að einhver sé í garðinum.

• vera: to be
• í: in
• að: that

Questions & Answers about Ég held að einhver sé í garðinum.

What exactly does Ég held mean, and how is held formed?

Ég held literally means I think or I believe.

• The infinitive form is að halda = to think / to believe / to hold.
• held is the present tense, 1st person singular:
  • ég held – I think
  • þú heldur – you think
  • hann/hún/það heldur – he/she/it thinks
  • við höldum – we think
  • þið haldið – you (pl.) think
  • þeir/þær/þau halda – they think

So Ég held is the natural way to start a clause meaning I think (that)….

Why do we need að after Ég held? Is it like English that?

Yes. að here is a subordinating conjunction, very close in function to English that.

• Ég held að… = I think that…
• It introduces a subordinate clause: að einhver sé í garðinum (that someone is in the garden).

Just as English that can often be dropped, spoken Icelandic sometimes drops að, but að is more often kept than English that. So:

• Ég held að einhver sé í garðinum – fully normal and clear.
• Ég held einhver sé í garðinum – possible, more speech-like.