Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þó að það sé oft rigning.

The walking group is very fun, even though it often rains.

Breakdown of Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þó að það sé oft rigning.

• vera: to be
• það: it
• mjög: very
• oft: often
• þó að: although
• skemmtilegur: fun
• gönguhópurinn: the walking group
• rigning: the rain

Questions & Answers about Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þó að það sé oft rigning.

What does Gönguhópurinn literally mean, and why does it end in -inn?

Gönguhópurinn is a compound word plus a definite ending.

• ganga = to walk; as a noun: a walk
• göngu- = a linking form used in compounds
• hópur = group

So gönguhópur = walking group / hiking group.

The ending -inn is the definite article (like English the) attached to masculine nouns:

• hópur = a group
• hópurinn = the group
• gönguhópur = a hiking group
• gönguhópurinn = the hiking group

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually a suffix on the noun, not a separate word like the.

What are the gender and case of Gönguhópurinn, and how does that affect skemmtilegur?

Gönguhópurinn here is:

• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular
• Case: nominative (it is the subject of the sentence)

The adjective skemmtilegur (“fun, enjoyable”) must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

So we get:

• masculine, singular, nominative: skemmtilegur
• feminine, singular, nominative: skemmtileg
• neuter, singular, nominative: skemmtilegt

Because Gönguhópurinn is masculine singular nominative, the correct form is skemmtilegur:

• Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur.
  The hiking group is very enjoyable.

Why is it mjög skemmtilegur and not something like mjög gaman?

In Icelandic, you normally:

• use skemmtilegur / skemmtileg / skemmtilegt with nouns:

  • Hópurinn er skemmtilegur. – The group is fun.
  • Kvikmyndin er skemmtileg. – The movie is fun.

• use gaman in impersonal expressions with það:

  • Það er gaman. – It is fun.
  • Það er gaman að fara í gönguferðir. – It’s fun to go hiking.

So with a concrete noun like gönguhópurinn, mjög skemmtilegur is the natural choice:

• Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur
  The hiking group is very fun/enjoyable.

Why is it þó að það sé and not þó að það er?

Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be).
In Icelandic, verbs after þó að (“though / although / even though”) are normally in the subjunctive, especially in standard written language.

• að vera (to be), present:

  • ég er
  • þú ert
  • hann/hún/það er

• að vera, present subjunctive:

  • ég sé
  • þú sért
  • hann/hún/það sé

So:

• þó að það sé oft rigning
  literally: though that it be often rain

Using sé signals this is a concessive clause (“even though ...”) and is the grammatically preferred form. You do hear þó að það er in spoken language, but þó að það sé is the more correct / formal version.

What exactly does þó að mean here? Is it the same as English “though/although/even though”?

Yes, þó að introduces a concessive clause, just like English though / although / even though.

In this sentence:

• þó að það sé oft rigning
  = even though it is often raining / even though there is often rain

Functionally, þó að is closest to although or even though:

• Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þó að það sé oft rigning.
  The hiking group is very enjoyable, even though it often rains.

Why do we have það in þó að það sé oft rigning? What does það refer to?

Here það is a dummy subject, similar to English it in sentences about the weather:

• English: It often rains. (the it doesn’t refer to anything concrete)
• Icelandic: Það er oft rigning. (same idea)

So það doesn’t refer to gönguhópurinn; it’s just a formal subject for the weather clause það sé oft rigning.

You can sometimes omit það in more formal or stylistic Icelandic and say:

• þó að sé oft rigning

but þó að það sé oft rigning is the most natural standard form for learners.

Why is there no article with rigning? Why not þó að það sé oft rigningin?

Rigning means rain as an uncountable mass noun, especially when talking about weather in general.

In Icelandic, as in English, mass nouns used in a general, non-specific way do not usually take a definite article:

• Það er rigning. – It is raining / There is rain.
• Það er snjór. – There is snow.
• Það er mikil sól. – There is a lot of sun.

Rigningin = the rain refers to specific or already-known rain:

• Rigningin byrjaði í gær. – The rain started yesterday.
• Rigningin í dag er mjög mikil. – The rain today is very heavy.

In your sentence, we are talking about rain in general, as a frequent condition, so rigning without an article is correct:

• þó að það sé oft rigning
  even though it often rains / there is often rain

Can the word order in the clause change? Could you say þó að oft sé rigning instead of þó að það sé oft rigning?

Yes, Icelandic allows some flexibility in word order, especially in subordinate clauses.

Possible variations:

1. þó að það sé oft rigning
   – Most natural and neutral for learners.

2. þó að oft sé rigning
   – Grammatically correct. Feels a bit more formal or stylistic; puts oft in a more prominent position. There is no dummy það here.

3. þó að sé oft rigning
   – Also possible, but more formal/literary; again no það.

For everyday speech, þó að það sé oft rigning is the best and most idiomatic form to stick with.

Are there other common ways to express the same idea instead of þó að það sé oft rigning?

Yes, some common alternatives with slightly different style/nuance:

1. Þrátt fyrir að það sé oft rigning

   • þrátt fyrir (að) = despite (the fact that)
   • Slightly more formal than þó að.

2. Jafnvel þótt það sé oft rigning

   • jafnvel þótt = even though / even if
   • Emphasizes the contrast a bit more.

3. Using a noun phrase with þrátt fyrir:

   • Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þrátt fyrir mikla rigningu.
     The hiking group is very enjoyable, despite the heavy rain.

Your original sentence is one of the most natural-sounding options, especially in everyday language.

How is Gönguhópurinn er mjög skemmtilegur, þó að það sé oft rigning pronounced, and where is the stress?

Very roughly in IPA, one common pronunciation would be:

• Gönguhópurinn → [ˈkœiŋkʏˌhouːpʏrɪn]
• er → [ɛr]
• mjög → [mjœːɣ]
• skemmtilegur → [ˈscɛm̥tɪˌlɛːɣʏr]
• þó → [θouː]
• að → [aːð] (often very short/weak in connected speech)
• það → [ðaːð] (the ð can be quite soft)
• sé → [sjɛː]
• oft → [ɔft]
• rigning → [ˈrɪkniŋk]

Stress patterns:

• In Icelandic, the main stress is almost always on the first syllable of a word:
  • GÖNGUhópurinn
  • SKEMMtilegur
  • RIGNing

The sentence rhythm places clear beats on the first syllables of content words: GÖNGUhópurinn ER MJÖG SKEMMtilegur, ÞÓ að ÞAÐ SÉ OFT RIGNing.