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Viðskiptavinirnir voru að bíða í röð þegar verslunin opnaði.

Viðskiptavinirnir voru að bíða í röð þegar verslunin opnaði.
The customers were waiting in a line when the shop opened.

Breakdown of Viðskiptavinirnir voru að bíða í röð þegar verslunin opnaði.

vera
to be
í
in
þegar
when
opna
to open
verslunin
the shop
bíða
to wait
viðskiptavinurinn
the customer
röðin
the line
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Questions & Answers about Viðskiptavinirnir voru að bíða í röð þegar verslunin opnaði.

What does the ending -nir in Viðskiptavinirnir mean?

-nir is the definite article suffix for masculine plural nominative nouns.
So viðskiptavinir = customers (indefinite), while viðskiptavinirnir = the customers.

Why is it viðskiptavinir (with -ir) and not some other plural ending?

Viðskiptavinur is a common masculine noun whose nominative plural typically ends in -ir.
So the base forms here are:

  • singular: viðskiptavinur
  • plural: viðskiptavinir
  • definite plural: viðskiptavinirnir
Why is it voru and not var?

Because the subject Viðskiptavinirnir is plural.
The past tense of vera (to be) agrees in number:

  • var = was (singular)
  • voru = were (plural)
What is the grammar behind voru að bíða?

This is a very common Icelandic way to express an ongoing action in the past (similar to English were waiting):

  • vera (conjugated) + að
    • infinitive
      So:
  • voru að bíða = were in the process of waiting / were waiting

It often emphasizes the action as in progress at a certain time.

How would the meaning change if it just said Viðskiptavinirnir biðu...?

Biðu is the simple past of bíða (wait). It can still mean waited / were waiting, but it’s usually less explicitly “in progress” than voru að bíða.
Many speakers use biðu for a straightforward narrative past, and voru að bíða when they want to highlight the ongoing nature of the waiting at that moment.

Why is it í röð? What case is röð in after í?

The preposition í can take:

  • accusative for movement/direction (into),
  • dative for location/state (in/inside).

Here the meaning is “they were waiting in a line” (a state), so you’d expect the dative.
But röð is one of those nouns where nominative/accusative/dative singular look the same: röð. So you can’t see the case change in the form.

Why is röð singular and not plural?

Because the idiomatic expression is bíða í röð = wait in a line / queue.
Even if many people are involved, it’s typically thought of as one queue, so singular is normal.

Why is there no comma before þegar?

In Icelandic, you usually don’t put a comma just because a subordinate clause follows (unlike in some other languages).
So ... í röð þegar verslunin opnaði is standard punctuation.

Why is the verb at the end in þegar verslunin opnaði?

That clause is introduced by þegar (when), which makes it a subordinate clause.
In subordinate clauses, Icelandic often places the verb later in the clause (commonly after the subject), so:

  • þegar verslunin opnaði = when the store opened
    This is typical subordinate-clause word order.