Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið á mér áður en ég fer að sofa.

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Breakdown of Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið á mér áður en ég fer að sofa.

• fara: to go
• sofa: to sleep
• á: on
• áður en: before
• og: and
• mér: me
• þvo: to wash
• andlitið: the face
• nefið: the nose

Questions & Answers about Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið á mér áður en ég fer að sofa.

Why is the verb written as þvæ and not þvo in this sentence?

Þvo is the infinitive (to wash). In the present tense, the 1st person singular form (for ég) is þvæ.

Very simplified paradigm (present tense):

• að þvo – to wash
• ég þvæ – I wash
• þú þværð – you (sg.) wash
• hann / hún / það þvær – he / she / it washes
• við þvoum – we wash
• þið þvoið – you (pl.) wash
• þeir / þær / þau þvo – they wash

So Ég þvæ … is the normal present tense: I wash …

Why do we have andlitið and nefið, with the -ið endings, instead of just andlit and nef?

Andlit and nef are neuter nouns. The form with -ið is the definite singular:

• andlit – a face
• andlitið – the face
• nef – a nose
• nefið – the nose

Icelandic often uses the definite form for body parts that belong to the subject, especially when combined with á mér / á þér / á honum, etc. So:

• Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið á mér.
  Literally: I wash the face and the nose on me → I wash my face and (my) nose.

Instead of saying mitt andlit og nef (“my face and nose”), Icelandic prefers the definite article andlitið / nefið plus á mér to show whose body parts they are.

Why do we say á mér and not something like mitt andlit og nef for “my face and nose”?

This is a very typical Icelandic structure for body parts:

[definite body part] + á + [dative pronoun]

It literally looks like “the face on me”, “the hands on him”, etc., but idiomatically it just means my / his / her face, hands, etc.

Examples:

• Ég þvæ andlitið á mér. – I wash my face.
• Hún braut fótinn á sér. – She broke her leg.
• Læknirinn skoðaði augun á honum. – The doctor examined his eyes.

So á mér already encodes “on me / belonging to me”, and together with andlitið / nefið in the definite form, it naturally gives my face and (my) nose.

Why is it mér (dative) in á mér and not mig (accusative)?

The choice between mér and mig is controlled by the preposition á:

• á
  • accusative → movement onto something (direction).
    • Hann setti bókina á borðið. – He put the book on the table.
• á
  • dative → location on something (no movement).
    • Bókin er á borðinu. – The book is on the table.

In andlitið og nefið á mér, the meaning is “on me” as a location/possession, not “onto me” as a direction, so á takes the dative:

• mér = dative of ég
• mig = accusative of ég

So á mér is correct here.

Could I say Ég þvæ mér andlitið og nefið instead? Is that grammatical?

Yes, that is also grammatical, and you will see both patterns:

1. Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið á mér.
2. Ég þvæ mér andlitið og nefið.

In (2) you are using the reflexive construction of the verb þvo sér:

• að þvo sér – to wash oneself
• Ég þvæ mér. – I wash (myself).
• Ég þvæ mér andlitið. – I wash my face.

Both sentences are natural Icelandic. (2) emphasizes “I wash myself: the face and the nose”, while (1) emphasizes the body parts “on me”. In practice, both just mean I wash my face and my nose.

Why isn’t there any explicit word for “my” in the Icelandic sentence?

Possession of body parts is usually expressed indirectly, not with a possessive pronoun.

English:

• my face, my nose

Icelandic prefers:

• andlitið á mér (literally the face on me)
• hárið á þér (the hair on you)
• hendur á honum (hands on him)

The combination of:

• definite noun (andlitið, nefið)
• plus á mér / á þér / á honum / á henni in the dative

does the job of “the X that belongs to that person”. So my is built into the structure rather than a separate word.

What case are andlitið and nefið in, and why?

They are in the accusative singular, definite:

• Base forms: andlit, nef (neuter nouns)
• Accusative singular: same form as nominative for neuters (andlit, nef)
• Add definite article -ið → andlitið, nefið

The verb þvo / þvæ takes a direct object in the accusative:

• Ég þvæ bílinn. – I wash the car.
• Ég þvæ fötin. – I wash the clothes.
• Ég þvæ andlitið og nefið. – I wash the face and the nose.

So andlitið and nefið are direct objects of þvæ, and therefore accusative.

Why do we use áður en instead of just áður before the clause ég fer að sofa?

Áður by itself is an adverb meaning before / earlier:

• Ég borða áður. – I eat earlier / beforehand.

When you introduce a full clause (with a subject and verb) after “before”, Icelandic normally uses áður en:

• Áður en ég fer að sofa, þvæ ég andlitið.
• Ég kem áður en þú ferð. – I come before you leave.

So:

• áður
  • noun / implied context
• áður en
  • clause (subject + verb)

Is fer here present or future tense? It looks present, but the meaning is “before I go to sleep.”

Fer is present tense of að fara (to go). Icelandic commonly uses the present tense to talk about the near future, especially in fixed or scheduled actions, or in phrases like “I’m going to do X”:

• Ég fer heim klukkan tíu. – I go home / I’m going home at ten.
• Á morgun fer ég í skólann. – Tomorrow I go / I’m going to school.

So áður en ég fer að sofa literally is “before I go to sleep”, but in context it naturally refers to what you usually do before you go to bed.

What exactly does að sofa add after fer? Is fara að some kind of special construction?

Yes. Fara að + infinitive often means to be about to / to start to do something:

• Það er að fara að rigna. – It is about to start raining.
• Hann fór að hlæja. – He started to laugh.

In everyday speech, fara að sofa is used idiomatically for “go to sleep / go to bed”:

• Ég fer að sofa. – I’m going to sleep / I’m going to bed.

So in this sentence ég fer að sofa is best understood as I go to sleep / I’m going to sleep, not just literally “I go to sleep” as two unrelated verbs.

Could you say áður en fer að sofa without ég?

No, you normally must include the subject:

• ✔ áður en ég fer að sofa
• ✘ áður en fer að sofa

In Icelandic, unlike some spoken English, you generally do not drop the subject in a finite clause. Since fer is a finite verb, the clause needs an explicit subject (ég, hann, etc.).

How are andlitið and áður pronounced, especially the ð letters?

Approximate pronunciation (not IPA-perfect, just a guide):

• andlitið:

  • an – like “ahn” (short)
  • dli – the d is often very weak or almost merged with l; li like li in “little”
  • tið – t as in “top”, ið like “ith” with a short i
    Overall something like: “Ahn-dli-tith” (with the final ð as a soft th in “this”).

• áður:

  • á – like “ow” in “cow”
  • ður – ð is a soft th as in “this”, ur like “oor” but very short and central
    Roughly: “OW-thur” (short, with a soft th).

The ð in these words is voiced (like th in English this, not thing).