Breakdown of Hvernig væri að við myndum fylla út eyðublaðið saman núna?
Questions & Answers about Hvernig væri að við myndum fylla út eyðublaðið saman núna?
Hvernig væri að … ? is a very common Icelandic way to make a suggestion. Even though hvernig literally means how, the whole expression works like English How about … ? / What if we … ? / Would it be a good idea to … ? It’s an idiomatic “soft proposal,” not a request for a description of how something would be done.
Væri is the subjunctive form of vera (to be) used here to express a hypothetical/softened idea: would be rather than is.
So Hvernig er að … ? would sound unusual for this meaning, while Hvernig væri að … ? sounds natural and polite, like “Would it be okay if…?”
Að introduces the clause that contains the proposed action. In English you might translate the structure as How would it be if that we… (though English wouldn’t normally say it that way). In Icelandic it’s normal: Hvernig væri að + clause.
Myndum is from munu (will). Here it functions like an auxiliary meaning would.
- við myndum = we would
It helps create a suggestion phrased in a hypothetical/conditional way: “How about we would fill out…”, i.e. “How about we fill out…”.
Because it agrees with við (we). Myndum is 1st person plural.
Comparable forms (for reference):
- ég myndi (I would)
- þú myndir (you would, singular)
- við myndum (we would)
Yes. A common alternative is to use the subjunctive of the main verb directly:
- Hvernig væri að við fylltum út eyðublaðið saman núna?
This is also “How about we fill out the form together now?”
Using myndum can feel a bit more explicitly “would”-like; both are idiomatic.
After að, you typically get normal clause order with the subject first: við then the (finite) verb myndum. So it’s not like English question inversion (would we). The whole sentence is a question because of the question mark and the “suggestion” phrasing, not because the verb moves in front of the subject.
Fylla út is a very common verb + particle combination meaning to fill out (like a form).
- fylla = fill
- út = out
Icelandic often keeps the particle út right after the verb: fylla út. With longer objects you’ll still commonly see fylla út + object, as here: fylla út eyðublaðið.
-ið marks the definite form: eyðublað = a form, eyðublaðið = the form.
In context, this often implies a specific form both speakers know about (the one on the desk/on the screen).
It’s the direct object, so it’s accusative. But eyðublað is neuter, and neuter nouns often look the same in nominative and accusative (especially in the singular), so you can’t always “see” the case change in the word form itself. The role in the sentence tells you it’s accusative.
They are adverbs:
- saman = together
- núna = now
The placement … eyðublaðið saman núna is natural: action + object + manner (together) + time (now).
You can move them for emphasis, e.g. … núna saman can be possible, but it may change what feels most emphasized or most natural in context.