Við hittumst í skóginum þar sem tréð er mjög hátt.

to be

Breakdown of Við hittumst í skóginum þar sem tréð er mjög hátt.

• við: we
• mjög: very
• í: in

Questions & Answers about Við hittumst í skóginum þar sem tréð er mjög hátt.

Why is it hittumst and not hittum?

Hittumst is the middle / reciprocal form of the verb hitta (to meet).

• hitta (að hitta) = to meet (someone)
  • Við hittum hann = We met him / we meet him
• hittast (að hittast) = to meet each other
  • Við hittumst = We meet (each other) / We are meeting (each other)

The -st ending often adds a reflexive or reciprocal meaning in Icelandic. Using við hittum without -st would normally require an object (someone you meet). Here, because the meaning is we meet each other, Icelandic uses hittumst.

Is Við hittumst in the present or the past tense here?

Formally, við hittumst can be either present or past, depending on context, but in this sentence it is most naturally read as present:

• Present: við hittumst = we meet (each other) / we are meeting (each other)
• Past: við hittumst can also mean we met (each other), but then you’d usually expect the rest of the context to be in the past too, for example:
  
  • Við hittumst í skóginum þar sem tréð var mjög hátt.
    We met in the forest where the tree was very tall.

Because the sentence has er (tréð er mjög hátt – the tree is very tall, present tense), the whole sentence naturally reads in the present.

Why is it í skóginum and not or ?