Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður ef þú vilt sjá árangur.

You need to be patient if you want to see results.

Breakdown of Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður ef þú vilt sjá árangur.

• vera: to be
• þú: you
• vilja: to want
• sjá: to see
• þurfa: to need
• ef: if
• þolinmóður: patient
• árangurinn: the result

Questions & Answers about Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður ef þú vilt sjá árangur.

Why is þarft used here instead of þarf?

Þarft is the 2nd person singular form of the verb að þurfa (to need).

Present tense of að þurfa:

• ég þarf – I need
• þú þarft – you (singular) need
• hann / hún / það þarf – he / she / it needs
• við þurfum – we need
• þið þurfið – you (plural) need
• þeir / þær / þau þurfa – they need

Since the subject is þú (you, singular), the correct form is þarft.

What is the function of að in þarft að vera? Is it like English to?

Yes. Here að is the infinitive marker, very similar to English to in to be.

• þarft að vera = need to be

In Icelandic, many verbs that express necessity, ability, beginning, etc. are followed by að + infinitive, for example:

• Ég reyni að læra. – I try to learn.
• Þú þarft að sofa. – You need to sleep.

So að here simply links þarft (need) to the infinitive vera (be).

Why is there no að before sjá in ef þú vilt sjá árangur? Why not vilt að sjá?

Some Icelandic verbs take a bare infinitive (infinitive without að). Að vilja (to want) is one of those.

So you say:

• Ég vil fara. – I want to go.
• Þú vilt sjá árangur. – You want to see results.

You do not say vil(vilt) að fara, vilt að sjá in standard Icelandic.

Compare:

• Ég reyni að fara. – I try to go. (að required)
• Ég vil fara. – I want to go. (að impossible here)

Why is þolinmóður used here, and not þolinmóð or þolinmótt?

Þolinmóður is an adjective meaning patient. Like other Icelandic adjectives, it agrees with the subject in gender, number and case.

The basic forms (nominative singular) are:

• masculine: þolinmóður
• feminine: þolinmóð
• neuter: þolinmótt

In the sentence Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður, the adjective is a predicate adjective describing þú.
If you are grammatically masculine, the form is:

• Þú ert þolinmóður.
• Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður.

If the speaker/addressee is grammatically feminine, one would normally say:

• Þú ert þolinmóð.
• Þú þarft að vera þolinmóð.

Textbooks and example sentences often default to the masculine form, but in real life speakers choose the form that matches the person’s grammatical gender.

What is the difference between að vera þolinmóður and að hafa þolinmæði?

Both relate to patience, but they use different parts of speech:

• þolinmóður – adjective: patient
• þolinmæði – noun: patience

So:

• að vera þolinmóður = to be patient (describes what you are)
• að hafa þolinmæði = literally to have patience

The meanings are very close, but:

• vera þolinmóður is more about your character or behaviour:
  
  • Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður. – You need to be patient.
• hafa þolinmæði focuses a bit more on possessing the quality:
  
  • Þú þarft að hafa mikla þolinmæði. – You need to have a lot of patience.

Both are correct; the sentence just chooses the adjective version.

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

In this sentence ef means if, introducing a condition:

• ef þú vilt sjá árangur – if you want to see results

Ef = if / whether (conditional):

• Ég kem ef ég hef tíma. – I’ll come if I have time.

Þegar = when (time-related, not a condition):

• Ég kem þegar ég hef tíma. – I’ll come when I have time.

So:

• ef þú vilt sjá árangur: maybe you want to, maybe not – on the condition that you want to see results.
• þegar þú vilt sjá árangur would sound more like “when(ever) you want to see results”, more temporal than conditional.

Why is árangur used without any article? Why not something like the results?

Icelandic does not have an indefinite article (a, an), and the definite article is usually attached as a suffix (e.g. árangurinn = the result / the success).

• árangur (no ending) – result(s), success in an indefinite sense
• árangurinn – the result / the success

In sjá árangur, the idea is generic: see results / see success, not some specific, identified result. So the bare form árangur is used.

Structurally:

• verb: sjá (to see)
• direct object: árangur (accusative singular; for this noun nominative and accusative look the same in this form)

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, þú þarft að vera þolinmóður?

Yes, you can say:

• Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, þá þarft þú að vera þolinmóður.

Two points:

1. Ef-clause position
   The ef-clause (conditional) can come either:

   • at the end: Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður ef þú vilt sjá árangur.
   • at the beginning: Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, (þá) þarftu að vera þolinmóður.

2. Verb-second rule
   In main clauses, Icelandic tends to have the finite verb in second position.
   So after an initial ef-clause, the next clause usually starts with the verb:

   • Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, þá þarft þú að vera þolinmóður.
   • Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, þarftu að vera þolinmóður.

“Ef þú vilt sjá árangur, þú þarft að vera þolinmóður” without moving the verb would sound off to native speakers; they expect the verb (or þarftu) right after the comma.

Can I drop the second þú and say … ef vilt sjá árangur?

No. Icelandic is not a “subject-dropping” language in the way Spanish or Italian can be. You generally must include the subject pronoun, especially in a new clause.

So you need:

• ef þú vilt sjá árangur – if you want to see results

Leaving out þú (ef vilt sjá árangur) sounds ungrammatical in standard Icelandic.

What is the difference between þarft að and verður að? Both seem to mean must / have to.

Both express necessity, but there is a nuance:

• að þurfa (þarft að) – to need (to), have to

  • Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður. – You need to be patient.

• að verða að (verður að) – to must, be obliged to

  • Þú verður að vera þolinmóður. – You must be patient / You really have to be patient.

Roughly:

• þarft að can be slightly softer, like a requirement or practical necessity.
• verður að often sounds stronger, more like a rule, obligation, or unavoidable fact.

In many everyday contexts they overlap and both are possible, but verður að often feels more emphatic.

How is Þú þarft að vera þolinmóður pronounced, especially Þ and ð?

Key points:

• Þ / þ is a voiceless th sound, like English th in thing.

  • Þú ≈ “thoo”

• ð is a voiced th sound, like English th in this.

  • In þolinmóður, the ð near the end is this sound.

A rough pronunciation guide (not IPA, just approximate):

• Þú – “thoo”
• þarft – “tharft” (with a trilled or tapped r)
• að – short “ath” (with voiced ð, like “that” without the final t)
• vera – “veh-ra” (rolled r)
• þolinmóður – approximately “THO-lin-moh-thur”
• ef – like English “ef” in “effort” (short e)
• vilt – “vilt” (short i, like in “bit”)
• sjá – “syau” (a diphthong, a bit like syaow)
• árangur – “OW-rang-gur” (first vowel like English ow in “cow”, rolled r)

The main thing to remember from this sentence is: two different th sounds: þ (unvoiced, as in thing) and ð (voiced, as in this).

What is the difference between vilja (vilt) and að langa (langar mig) for expressing want?

Both can translate to to want, but they behave differently:

1. vilja – a regular verb that takes a subject:

   • Ég vil fara. – I want to go.
   • Þú vilt sjá árangur. – You want to see results.

2. að langa – an impersonal verb that typically takes an object pronoun in the accusative:

   • Mig langar að fara. – I want (literally: it longs me) to go.
   • Þig langar að sjá árangur. – You want to see results.

Nuances:

• vilja is more about will/decision/volition: what you decide or choose.
• langa can feel more like a desire or longing, sometimes a bit softer or more emotional.

In many situations both are possible, but their grammar is different. In this sentence ef þú vilt sjá árangur is straightforward “if you want to see results” using vilja.