Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.

In this sentence, verðum suggests a change of state: every time we meet, we become happy (we weren’t necessarily happy just before). Using erum would emphasize a more constant state rather than that change caused by the meeting.

What exactly does glöð agree with, and why is it that form?

Glöð is an adjective meaning happy, and its form is chosen to agree with the (understood) noun behind við in:

Við verðum alltaf glöð

The base adjective is:

glaður (m. sg.) – happy
- f. sg.: glöð
- n. sg.: glatt
- m. pl.: glaðir
- f. pl.: glaðar
- n. pl.: glöð

With við, the correct plural form depends on what “we” are:

all/mostly men or a mixed adult group: Við erum glaðir
all women: Við erum glaðar
a neuter plural group (e.g. börn “children”, or things): Við erum glöð

So Við verðum alltaf glöð most naturally implies that við refers to a neuter plural noun like börnin (the children), or to things. In context it could be something like:

Við (börnin) verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
We children always become happy when we meet.

If the speakers were adult humans of mixed gender, you would normally expect glaðir instead of glöð.

What is hittumst, and why does it end in -st?

Hittumst is the 1st person plural present of the verb að hittast.

Base verb: að hitta – to meet (someone)
Middle/reciprocal form: að hittast – to meet each other

The -st ending is a common Icelandic marker for middle / reciprocal / passive-like verbs. With people as subject, hittast usually means meet each other.

Compare:

Við hittum vini okkar. – We meet our friends. (we are the ones doing the meeting)
Við hittumst. – We meet (each other). (reciprocal: both are subject and object)

So in the sentence, við hittumst is best understood as we meet each other / we meet up.

Can I say þegar við hittum instead of þegar við hittumst?

Not with the same meaning.

þegar við hittum is incomplete: it means when we meet … (someone) and wants an object:
- þegar við hittum vini okkar – when we meet our friends
þegar við hittumst is complete by itself and means when we meet (each other).

So, to express when we meet (each other) you need þegar við hittumst.

Why is the present tense used in both clauses when in English we might think of the future?

Icelandic commonly uses the present tense in þegar (“when”) clauses to talk about:

habitual actions:
- Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
  We always get happy when we meet (whenever we meet).
future time as well:
- Við verðum glöð þegar við hittumst á morgun.
  We’ll be / We’ll get happy when we meet tomorrow.

Note that Icelandic normally does not say something like “when we will meet”; the þegar clause uses the present, even for future reference. The main verb verðum can be understood as either habitual become or future will become, depending on context.

Why do we repeat við (in þegar við hittumst) instead of just saying þegar hittumst?

In Icelandic, you cannot drop the subject pronoun like you sometimes can in English or other languages. Each finite verb needs an explicit subject.

So:

Correct: Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
Incorrect: *Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar hittumst.

You must repeat við in the second clause.

What is the role and typical position of alltaf in this sentence?

Alltaf means always. In:

Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.

it sits in the “middle field” of the clause, after the verb verðum but before the predicate adjective glöð.

Typical positions:

Við verðum alltaf glöð … – neutral, most common.
Við verðum glöð alltaf … – unusual and marked; could work in very specific emphasis contexts.
Alltaf verðum við glöð þegar við hittumst. – fronting alltaf for emphasis: It’s always that we become happy when we meet.

So the given word order is the normal, unmarked one.

Could I put the þegar-clause first, like Þegar við hittumst, verðum við alltaf glöð?

Yes, that is perfectly correct and quite natural:

Þegar við hittumst, verðum við alltaf glöð.

Two points:

Icelandic often places adverbial clauses (with þegar, af því að, ef, etc.) at the start for emphasis or flow.
The main clause still keeps verb-second (V2) order:
- … verðum við alltaf glöð, not *við verðum alltaf glöð after the comma.

So both orders are grammatical:

Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
Þegar við hittumst, verðum við alltaf glöð.

Why isn’t there a comma before þegar in the original sentence?

Modern Icelandic punctuation usually does not require a comma before a short subordinate clause introduced by þegar (when), af því að (because), ef (if), etc., especially when it follows the main clause.

So:

Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst. – standard, no comma needed.
If you invert and put the þegar-clause first, a comma is usually written:
- Þegar við hittumst, verðum við alltaf glöð.

The comma mainly marks the boundary when the subordinate clause comes first, not when it comes second.

How are verðum and hittumst conjugated in the present tense?

Að verða (to become) – present tense:

ég verð
þú verður
hann / hún / það verður
við verðum
þið verðið
þeir / þær / þau verða

Að hittast (to meet each other) – present tense (middle form of að hitta):

ég hittist
þú hittist
hann / hún / það hittist
við hittumst
þið hittist
þeir / þær / þau hittast

So in the sentence:

verðum = 1st person plural present of að verða
hittumst = 1st person plural present of að hittast

How do you pronounce glöð and hittumst?

Approximate IPA and notes:

glöð: [klœːð]
- g is hard [k] at the beginning.
- lö is a long [œː] (similar to German ö, like in schön).
- ð is like the th in English this, but often quite soft.
hittumst: [ˈhɪhtʏmst]
- stress on the first syllable: HIT-tumst.
- hi ~ [hɪ], like English hit.
- tt is pronounced as a long, unvoiced [ht]-like sound in many accents.
- u here is [ʏ], similar to German ü in müssen.
- final -mst cluster is all pronounced, though quickly; the t is weak but present.

Is there any nuance difference between saying Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst and Við erum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst?

Yes, a subtle one:

Við verðum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
- Emphasizes the change: we become happy at the point of meeting.
- Implies we might not have been happy just before we met.
Við erum alltaf glöð þegar við hittumst.
- Describes a state that holds whenever the meeting occurs.
- A bit more neutral; less focus on the transition, more on the fact.

Both are grammatical; choice depends on whether you want to highlight that the meeting makes you happy (verðum) or simply that you are happy in those situations (erum).

Does að hitta always mean “to meet (see again)” or can it also mean “to meet for the first time”?

Að hitta can mean both:

meeting someone you already know:
- Ég hitti hana oft. – I meet/see her often.
meeting someone for the first time:
- Gaman að hitta þig. – Nice to meet you.

The reciprocal að hittast works similarly:

Við hittumst í fyrsta skipti í fyrra.
We met (each other) for the first time last year.
Við hittumst oft.
We meet (each other) often.

So in þegar við hittumst, context will decide if it’s about first-time meetings or repeated/regular meetings. Here, with alltaf, it naturally suggests repeated meetings.