Endilega bankið þegar þið komið.

Please knock when you come.

Breakdown of Endilega bankið þegar þið komið.

• þið: you
• þegar: when
• koma: to come
• endilega: please
• banka: to knock

Questions & Answers about Endilega bankið þegar þið komið.

What does endilega add to the sentence? Is it like please?

Endilega is a friendly “go right ahead / by all means / please do”. It makes the request sound welcoming and encouraging rather than strictly formal.

• Endilega bankið… ≈ “(Do) knock, please / Feel free to knock…”
  It’s often used when you’re giving permission or inviting someone to do something.

Why is bankið used—what form is it?

bankið is the imperative (command/request) form of the verb að banka (“to knock”), addressed to more than one person (or to þið-address).

• Infinitive: að banka
• Imperative (singular): bankaðu! (“knock!” to one person)
• Imperative (plural): bankið! (“knock!” to you all)

Why does it say þið? Can Icelandic drop the pronoun like English sometimes does?

Yes—often you can omit þið because the verb ending already shows the person/number. This sentence could also be:

• Endilega bankið þegar komið.
  Including þið makes it a bit clearer/emphatic (“when you come/arrive”).

Is þið always plural, or can it be used for politeness to one person (like French vous)?

þið is fundamentally plural (“you all”). Icelandic doesn’t have a standard formal you like French vous or German Sie.
That said, þið can sometimes be used to sound a bit more polite/distant in certain contexts, but it’s not a strict formal system, and in everyday modern Icelandic people usually just use singular þú to one person.

Why is komið used here—what tense is it? Isn’t komið also an imperative?

Here komið is present tense, 2nd person plural of að koma (“to come/arrive”):

• þið komið = “you (pl.) come/are coming”
  In a þegar (“when”) clause, Icelandic typically uses the present tense to refer to the future as well (similar to English “when you come…”).
  It’s true that komið! can also be the plural imperative (“come!”), but the presence of þið and þegar makes it clearly a “when you come” clause.

Does this mean “when you come” or “when you arrive”?

að koma covers both come and arrive, and the best English choice depends on context. In this kind of door/visiting context, it often feels like “when you arrive.”

Could I also say þegar þið komið inn? What would that change?

Yes.

• Endilega bankið þegar þið komið. = “Knock when you come/arrive (here).”
• Endilega bankið þegar þið komið inn. = “Knock when you come in / when you enter.”
  Adding inn makes the timing more specifically tied to entering.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move endilega or the þegar-clause?

The sentence is flexible, but different placements sound more/less natural. Common options:

• Endilega bankið þegar þið komið. (very natural)
• Bankið endilega þegar þið komið. (also natural; slightly more emphasis on “do knock”)
• Þegar þið komið, bankið endilega. (fronting the time clause adds emphasis: “When you come, …”)
  In all cases, the verb-second (V2) tendency of Icelandic in main clauses is respected: if you start with Þegar þið komið, then bankið comes right after the comma.

Is bankið “knock (on the door)” specifically? How would I say “ring the doorbell” instead?

að banka is specifically to knock (typically on a door).
To say “ring” (a bell/doorbell), you’d usually use að hringja:

• Endilega hringið þegar þið komið. = “Feel free to ring (the bell) when you come.”
  If you want to be explicit: hringið bjöllunni (“ring the bell”), though often hringið is enough in context.

How do I pronounce the tricky letters þ and ð in þið and bankið?

• þ is like English th in thin (voiceless). So þið starts with that sound.
• ð is like English th in this (voiced). In bankið, the ð is at the end and can sound like a soft voiced th (and in connected speech it may be quite light).
  Roughly: þið ≈ “thith” (but with a clear vowel), bankið ≈ “bank-ith” (very approximate).

Where is the stress in Endilega bankið þegar þið komið?

Icelandic stress is almost always on the first syllable of a word:

• Éndilega
• BÁnkið
• ÞÉgar
• ÞÍð
• KÓmið
  This helps your rhythm sound much more natural.

Could I replace endilega with something like vinsamlegast?

Yes, but it changes the tone:

• Endilega bankið… = friendly, inviting (“by all means / please do”)
• Vinsamlegast bankið… = more formal/instruction-like (“please (kindly) knock…”)
  Both are correct; endilega is very common in everyday speech when welcoming visitors.