Hún borðar banana á morgnana þegar hún er að fara að hlaupa.

She eats bananas in the mornings when she is about to run.

Breakdown of Hún borðar banana á morgnana þegar hún er að fara að hlaupa.

• borða: to eat
• hún: she
• þegar: when
• á: in
• morgunninn: the morning
• hlaupa: to run
• vera að fara að: to be about to
• bananinn: the banana

Questions & Answers about Hún borðar banana á morgnana þegar hún er að fara að hlaupa.

Why does it say banana and not banani?

Because borða (to eat) takes a direct object in the accusative case.

• banani = nominative (dictionary form)
• banana = accusative singular
  So Hún borðar banana literally uses the accusative object: She eats a banana.

Is banana singular or plural here?

It’s singular. Icelandic often uses the same-looking form for:

• accusative singular: banana
• accusative plural: banana

In this sentence it’s understood as a banana (singular) from context, but grammatically the form itself could match either. If you wanted to make “the banana(s)” explicit, you’d typically use a different structure (e.g., with the definite form where possible).

Why is there no word for a/the before banana?

Icelandic has no separate indefinite article like English a/an. A bare noun can mean a banana depending on context.
For definiteness (the), Icelandic usually uses a suffix on the noun (the “enclitic” definite article), but that doesn’t work the same way for every noun in every context, and you often just rely on context when it’s indefinite.

What does á morgnana literally mean, and why that form?

á morgnana is an idiomatic time expression meaning in the mornings / in the morning (habitually).
It uses:

• the preposition á (often used with time expressions)
• morgnana, which is essentially morgun in a set plural/definite-like time pattern used for habitual times of day.

So it’s not just “on morning”; it’s a fixed way to say (habitually) in the mornings.

How would I say “this morning” or “in the morning (just once)” instead?

Common options are:

• í morgun = tomorrow (important false friend!)
• í morguninn can be used in some contexts for “in the morning (that specific morning),” but many learners instead use clearer phrases like í fyrramálið (tomorrow morning) or specify the day.

For habitual “in the mornings,” á morgnana is the go-to expression.

Why is it borðar and not borða?

Because borðar is the 3rd person singular present tense form agreeing with hún (she).
Conjugation (present):

• ég borða
• þú borðar
• hún/ hann/ það borðar
• við borðum
• þið borðið
• þau borða

So Hún borðar = She eats.

Why does Icelandic repeat hún twice?

Icelandic commonly repeats the subject pronoun in a subordinate clause, just like English often does:

• … þegar hún er að fara að hlaupa = … when she is about to run

You can’t usually omit the subject pronoun the way you might in some languages, because Icelandic verbs don’t always make the subject obvious enough, and dropping it can sound unnatural.

What is the role of þegar here, and what happens to word order after it?

þegar means when and introduces a subordinate clause. In Icelandic subordinate clauses typically have:

• the subject before the verb more consistently than in main clauses So you get: þegar hún er … (subject hún
  • verb er).
    In a main clause, Icelandic often has verb-second (V2) behavior, but subordinate clauses don’t follow V2 in the same way.

What does er að fara að hlaupa mean grammatically?

It’s a very common multi-verb construction meaning is about to run / is going to run (right now / imminently):

• er að
  • infinitive often expresses an ongoing or near-future action
• fara að
  • infinitive often means begin to or be about to

So hún er að fara að hlaupa conveys that she’s on the verge of running / just about to go running.

Why are there so many að’s?

They belong to different parts of the construction: 1) er að: part of the progressive/near-future style construction
2) fara að: a set verb + particle pattern meaning start to / be about to
3) then the infinitive hlaupa (to run)

So they aren’t accidental repeats; they’re doing separate jobs inside a common Icelandic pattern.

Could I replace hlaupa with another verb easily?

Yes. The pattern stays the same:

• … þegar hún er að fara að læra = when she is about to study
• … þegar hún er að fara að vinna = when she is about to work
• … þegar hún er að fara að sofa = when she is about to sleep

Just keep the infinitive at the end: fara að + infinitive.

Where is the stress in this sentence (roughly), and any pronunciation traps?

General rule: Icelandic stress is usually on the first syllable of a word:

• HÚN
• BOR-ðar
• BA-na-na (loanword, but still often initial stress)
• Á MORG-na-na
• ÞEG-ar
• HÚN ER að FÁ-ra að HLAU-pa

A common trap is the rolled/tapped r in borðar and the au diphthong in hlaupa (roughly like øy/oi-ish for many English speakers, depending on accent).