Niðurstaðan sýnir að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig.

to have

Breakdown of Niðurstaðan sýnir að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig.

• að: that
• okkar: our
• sýna: to show
• niðurstaðan: the result
• þolinmæði: the patience
• borga sig: to pay off

Questions & Answers about Niðurstaðan sýnir að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig.

What does the ending -an in Niðurstaðan mean?

The ending -an is the definite article attached to the noun.

• niðursáða = a result
• niðursáðan = the result

In Icelandic, the definite article (equivalent to English the) is usually a suffix, not a separate word.

Here, Niðurstaðan is:

• feminine gender
• nominative singular
• definite
• the subject of the main clause: Niðurstaðan sýnir ... → The result shows ...

What is the base form and gender of Niðurstaðan?

The base (dictionary) form is niðursáða (without the -n).

Details:

• niðursáða – feminine noun, meaning result / outcome
• niðursáðan – nominative singular definite: the result

You would look up niðursáða in a dictionary, not niðursáðan.

Why is the verb sýnir and not sýna?

sýnir is the 3rd person singular present of the verb að sýna (to show).

Conjugation in the present tense:

• ég sýni – I show
• þú sýnir – you (sg.) show
• hann / hún / það sýnir – he / she / it shows
• við sýnum – we show
• þið sýnið – you (pl.) show
• þeir / þær / þau sýna – they show

The subject is Niðurstaðan = it (third person singular), so the verb must be sýnir, not sýna.

What does að mean here, and why is it used?

In this sentence, að is a conjunction meaning that, introducing a subordinate clause:

• Niðurstaðan sýnir að ...
  The result shows that ...

So:

• að here does not mark an infinitive (like að tala = to speak).
• Instead it links the main clause to the content clause:
  að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig = that our patience has paid off.

What exactly does þolinmæði mean, and is it countable?

þolinmæði means patience.

Grammatically:

• It is a feminine noun.
• It is almost always used as a mass/uncountable noun, like English patience.
• It normally has no plural in everyday language.

In the sentence, þolinmæði okkar means our patience and is the subject of the subordinate clause:

• þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig
  our patience has paid off

What is okkar, and how does Icelandic say “our patience”?

okkar is the genitive plural of the pronoun við (we), and it functions as a possessive: our.

Icelandic often expresses possession by:

• noun + genitive pronoun

So:

• þolinmæði okkar = our patience (literally: patience of us)

Word order:

• In Icelandic, the possessed noun usually comes first, then the possessive:
  • bíll okkar – our car
  • húsið okkar – our house
  • þolinmæði okkar – our patience

Why is there no article before þolinmæði okkar, like a separate word for “the” or “our”?

Two things are going on:

1. Possession is expressed by the pronoun okkar after the noun:

   • þolinmæði okkar – our patience

2. There is no separate word for “the” here because:

   • Icelandic often does not use an article with abstract, uncountable nouns used in a general sense.
   • English our itself already makes the noun definite, and þolinmæði okkar is understood as specific/definite in context.

You could theoretically say þolinmæðin okkar (the patience of ours / our (specific) patience), but þolinmæði okkar is more natural in a general statement like this.

Why is the verb hefur used here, and what tense is hefur borgað sig?

hefur is the 3rd person singular present of að hafa (to have) and is used to form the present perfect:

• hefur borgað = has paid

In the clause:

• þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig
  our patience has paid off

The subject þolinmæði okkar is grammatically 3rd person singular, so we use hefur, not hef or höfum:

• ég hef – I have
• þú hefur – you have
• hann / hún / það hefur – he / she / it has
• við höfum – we have
• þið hafið – you (pl.) have
• þeir / þær / þau hafa – they have

What does borgað sig mean literally and idiomatically?

Literally:

• borgað – past participle of borga (to pay)
• sig – reflexive pronoun (himself / herself / itself), here basically itself

So borgað sig literally looks like paid itself.

Idiomatic meaning:

• borga sig is an idiom meaning to pay off / to be worth it.

Thus:

• þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig
  literally: our patience has paid itself
  idiomatically: our patience has paid off / has been worth it

What is sig, and how does the reflexive pronoun work here?

sig is the accusative reflexive pronoun meaning himself / herself / itself / themselves, always referring back to the subject of the same clause.

Key points:

• It does not show gender or number; context gives that.
• It must refer to the subject of its clause.

In this clause:

• Subject: þolinmæði okkar (our patience)
• Reflexive: sig, referring back to that subject.

So þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig literally is our patience has paid itself, which in Icelandic is a standard idiom for our patience has paid off.

Can I change the word order to að hefur þolinmæði okkar borgað sig?

No, that word order would be ungrammatical.

Rules here:

• In the main clause, Icelandic is verb-second (V2):
  Niðurstaðan sýnir ...
  (First element: Niðurstaðan, second: sýnir)

• In the subordinate clause introduced by að, standard order is: subject – verb – (object/other stuff) → SVO

So:

• Correct: að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig
• Incorrect: að hefur þolinmæði okkar borgað sig

The subordinate clause keeps normal SVO order, not main-clause V2.

What case is þolinmæði in here?

In þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig, the word þolinmæði is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the clause.

Structure:

• þolinmæði okkar – nominative subject
• hefur borgað sig – predicate (verb + object reflexive in idiom)

If it were an object of some verb, you might see another case (e.g. accusative or dative), but here it is clearly the subject.

Is there a difference between þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig and þolinmæðin okkar hefur borgað sig?

Yes, there is a nuance:

• þolinmæði okkar – our patience in a general, abstract sense (more neutral and typical here).
• þolinmæðin okkar – adds the definite article -in (fem. sg.) → the patience of ours / our particular patience.

In everyday usage, especially for a general statement about how patience has paid off, þolinmæði okkar is more natural.
þolinmæðin okkar can sound more like you’re talking about a specific, previously mentioned instance or kind of patience.

How do you pronounce the special letters in this sentence, like ð, þ, and æ?

Very roughly (in terms of English-like sounds):

• ð (eth), as in niðURstaðan, þolinMÆði

  • Between vowels: like a soft th in this, the.
  • So niður ≈ nith-ur (soft th), not like d.

• þ (thorn), as in Þolinmæði

  • Like th in thing, think (unvoiced).
  • So þolin ≈ tholin.

• æ, as in þolinmÆði, borgAÐ (well, borgað has ð not æ; use another word)

  • Pronounced like the English eye or I.
  • So þolinmæði ≈ THO-lin-my-thi (very approximate, with my for mæ).

Putting it together roughly:

• Niðurstaðan sýnir að þolinmæði okkar hefur borgað sig
  ≈ NITH-ur-sta-than SEE-nir ath THO-lin-my-thi OK-kar HEH-vur BOR-gað sig
  (with soft th for ð and hard th for þ)