Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Stiginn verður mjög sleipur þegar það rignir mikið. - The stairs become very slippery when it rains a lot.

The -inn ending is the definite article for masculine singular nominative. So stiginn literally means the stair / the staircase, even though in English we usually talk about the stairs in the plural.

Why is it stiginn verður and not stiginn er?

Icelandic distinguishes between:

vera = to be (a state)
verða = to become, to get, to turn (a change)

In the sentence, we’re talking about a change that happens when it rains: the stairs become slippery, they get slippery. That’s why you use verða:

stiginn er sleipur = the stairs are slippery (describing a state)
stiginn verður sleipur = the stairs become slippery (describing a change)

What grammatical case is stiginn in, and why?

Stiginn is in the nominative singular.

Reasons:

It is the subject of the sentence (the thing that becomes slippery).
The default case for the subject of a normal declarative sentence in Icelandic is nominative.
The verb verða does not force any special case on the subject; it stays nominative.

So: Stiginn (nom. sg. masc.) is the subject, and the verb is verður.

What form is sleipur, and how does it agree with stiginn?

Sleipur is an adjective meaning slippery.

In this sentence it appears as:

sleipur = nominative, masculine, singular, strong declension

It has this form because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun they describe in:

Gender: stiginn is masculine → sleipur must be masculine.
Number: stiginn is singular → sleipur must be singular.
Case: stiginn is nominative → sleipur must be nominative.

So we get: Stiginn verður mjög sleipur = The stairs become very slippery.

Why do we say mjög sleipur but rignir mikið? What’s the difference between mjög and mikið?

Both mjög and mikið can be translated as very / a lot, but they are used differently:

mjög is an adverb of degree:
- used mainly before adjectives and other adverbs
- mjög sleipur = very slippery
- mjög kaldur = very cold
mikið here is the adverb form of mikill:
- used often with verbs to mean a lot / much
- rignir mikið = it rains a lot
- hann vinnur mikið = he works a lot

So:

mjög sleipur (not mikið sleipur)
rignir mikið (not usually rignir mjög here, unless you are stressing how it rains, in a slightly different way)

What does þegar mean here, and how is it different from hvenær?

In this sentence:

þegar is a conjunction meaning when / whenever and introduces a time clause:
- þegar það rignir mikið = when it rains a lot / whenever it rains a lot

Hvenær is mainly a question word meaning when?:

Hvenær rignir? = When does it rain?

Key difference:

Use þegar to connect a main clause to a time clause:
- Stiginn verður sleipur þegar það rignir mikið.
Use hvenær in direct and indirect questions about time:
- Ég veit ekki hvenær það rignir. = I don’t know when it rains.

Why is there a það in þegar það rignir mikið? Can we just say þegar rignir mikið?

In Icelandic, weather verbs normally need a dummy subject það (similar to English it in it rains).

So you say:

það rignir = it rains
þegar það rignir mikið = when it rains a lot

If you say þegar rignir mikið, it sounds ungrammatical or at least very odd in standard Icelandic. The það is required as the subject, even though it doesn’t refer to a real thing.

Is the word order þegar það rignir mikið fixed, or could it be þegar það mikið rignir?

The normal word order in this kind of time clause is:

þegar (the conjunction)
það (the subject)
rignir (the verb)
mikið (the adverb)

So: þegar það rignir mikið.

Putting mikið before the verb (þegar það mikið rignir) is not the usual order and would sound at best very marked or poetic. For normal speech and writing, stick with:

þegar það rignir mikið

What tense are verður and rignir, and why are they present tense in a general statement?

Both verður (from verða) and rignir (from rigna) are in the present indicative.

Icelandic, like English, uses the present tense for:

General truths / regular situations / habits

So:

Stiginn verður mjög sleipur þegar það rignir mikið.
= The stairs get / become very slippery when it rains a lot.

Even though this talks about what typically happens (not necessarily right now), the present tense is used to express that general rule.

How would the sentence change if the subject were plural, like “the steps” instead of “the stairs”?

You’d need:

A plural noun, and
A plural adjective to agree with it.

For example, if you use stigi in the plural definite:

stigar = (some) stairs / steps
stígarnir = the stairs / the steps (nom. pl. masc.)

Then the adjective also becomes masculine nominative plural:

sleipir = slippery (masc. nom. pl.)

So:

Stígarnir verða mjög sleipir þegar það rignir mikið.

Another common word is trappa (step), plural tröppur (fem.):

Tröppurnar verða mjög sleipar þegar það rignir mikið.
(feminine plural adjective sleipar)

How do you pronounce stiginn and sleipur, and are there any tricky sounds?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

stiginn → [ˈstɪːjɪn]
- st- as in stay
- i is long in the first syllable, like ee in see, but a bit shorter and tenser
- gi is pronounced with a y sound: stii-yinn
- Double nn is just a normal [n] here
- Stress on the first syllable: STI-ginn
sleipur → [ˈsleipʏr]
- sl- as in slip
- ei is a diphthong, similar to ay in say
- u in -ur is [ʏ], like the German ü in müde; there is a short, rounded vowel then r
- Final r is rolled or tapped
- Stress again on the first syllable: SLEI-pur

Tricky points for English speakers:

The gi → [j] sound in stiginn
The ei diphthong in sleipur
The short rounded vowel [ʏ] and the rolled r in -ur