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Ég afhendi vöruna í dag, en endurgreiðslan kemur venjulega innan viku.

Ég afhendi vöruna í dag, en endurgreiðslan kemur venjulega innan viku.
I hand in the item today, but the refund usually comes within a week.
FromLesson 33inHardcore Icelandic
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Breakdown of Ég afhendi vöruna í dag, en endurgreiðslan kemur venjulega innan viku.

ég
I
koma
to come
en
but
vikan
the week
venjulega
usually
í dag
today
varan
the item
afhenda
to hand
endurgreiðslan
the refund
innan
within

Questions & Answers about Ég afhendi vöruna í dag, en endurgreiðslan kemur venjulega innan viku.

Why is it Ég afhendi and not Ég afhenda?

Because Icelandic verbs change with person and number. The infinitive is að afhenda (to deliver/hand over). In present tense, 1st person singular is ég afhendi (I deliver / I am handing over).
(Other forms: þú afhendir, hann/hún afhendir, við afhendum, þið afhendir, þeir/þær/þau afhenda.)

What nuance does afhenda have—does it mean deliver, hand over, or something else?
Afhenda typically means to hand over / deliver (officially or as part of a transaction)—often used in business, shipping, or formal contexts. It implies completing a transfer to the recipient. In everyday speech you might also see skila (return/hand back) or láta (let/give), depending on context, but afhenda is very common for “deliver the product.”
Why is it vöruna and not vara or vöru?

Vöruna is:

  • vöru = the noun vara (product/good) in accusative singular
  • -na = the definite article attached to the noun (the)

So Ég afhendi vöruna literally means I deliver the product (specific/known one).
If it were indefinite: Ég afhendi vöru = I deliver (some) product/goods (less common in this exact meaning unless you mean goods in general).

How do I know vöruna is accusative—what is making it accusative?
The verb afhenda typically takes a direct object (what is handed over), and that direct object is normally in the accusative case. Here, the direct object is vöruna (the product).
What’s the role of í dag and can it move around in the sentence?

í dag means today and functions as an adverbial time phrase. It can move, but word order changes the emphasis:

  • Ég afhendi vöruna í dag = neutral, “I’m delivering it today.”
  • Í dag afhendi ég vöruna = more emphasis on “today.” Icelandic allows flexibility, but the verb typically stays in the second position in main clauses (V2 word order).
Why does the second clause start with en? Is it the same as English but?

Yes—en is the common conjunction for but in the sense of contrast or adding a balancing statement. It’s very close to English usage:

  • ..., en ... = “..., but ...” You could also sometimes see þó (though) or hins vegar (however), but en is the straightforward choice.
Why is it endurgreiðslan with -an at the end?

Endurgreiðsla means refund/reimbursement (literally “repayment”).
endurgreiðslan = the refund, where -n is part of the attached definite article in nominative singular for many feminine nouns. The -an sequence here comes from endurgreiðsla + -in → pronunciation/spelling results in endurgreiðslan.

Why is the refund the subject in the second clause: endurgreiðslan kemur?

Icelandic often phrases “a refund arrives/comes” rather than “we issue a refund.”
So endurgreiðslan kemur literally means the refund comes/arrives (i.e., is processed and shows up). It’s a natural, idiomatic way to say “the refund usually comes within a week.”

What does venjulega modify, and where can it go?

venjulega means usually and modifies the verb phrase kemur ... innan viku (comes within a week). Common placements:

  • ... kemur venjulega innan viku (very natural)
  • ... venjulega kemur ... (possible, more marked)
  • ... kemur innan viku venjulega (possible but less smooth)
Why is it innan viku and not innan vika or innan viku(nnar)?

innan governs the genitive case.

  • vika (week) → genitive singular viku
    So innan viku = within a week.
    If you want “within a week from [something],” you might add: innan viku frá afhendingu (within a week from delivery).

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