Breakdown of Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, þá kem ég ekki.
Questions & Answers about Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, þá kem ég ekki.
Ef means if and introduces a subordinate (conditional) clause. In Icelandic, subordinate clauses typically keep subject–verb order (unlike the main-clause “verb-second” rule), so Ef ég verð... is the normal pattern: Ef + subject + verb + rest.
Because verða means to become / to get, and Icelandic commonly uses it for getting sick:
- verða veikur = to get ill / fall ill
Whereas vera veikur would mean to be ill (already ill), not the change into that state.
veikur is the masculine singular nominative form of the adjective meaning ill/sick. In Icelandic, a predicate adjective (after verbs like vera/verða) agrees with the person’s gender and number.
So:
- male speaker: Ef ég verð veikur...
- female speaker: Ef ég verð veik...
- non-binary/neuter usage (rare in everyday speech, but grammatically possible): Ef ég verð veikt...
- plural (e.g., við): typically Ef við verðum veikir... (masc/mixed group), or ... veikar (all female)
á morgun is the standard idiomatic way to say tomorrow. The preposition á is just part of the fixed expression here (not something you can freely swap). You’ll also see:
- í dag = today
- í gær = yesterday
- á morgun = tomorrow
þá literally means then, and in conditional sentences it often marks the result/consequence clause: if X, then Y.
It’s optional in many cases:
- Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, (þá) kem ég ekki.
Including þá can make the logic feel a bit clearer or more emphatic, but it usually doesn’t change the basic meaning.
Because Icelandic main clauses follow V2 (verb-second) word order: the finite verb is in the second position.
Here, þá occupies the first position in the main clause, so the verb must come next:
- þá (1st) + kem (2nd) + ég
- ekki
It can be. Both of these are natural:
1) With þá (main clause starts with an adverb → V2):
- Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, þá kem ég ekki.
2) Without þá, the main clause often starts with the verb after the comma (still V2 overall, because the whole conditional clause counts as the “first position” element):
- Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, kem ég ekki.
If you want Ég kem ekki, you can do it, but it’s a bit more “resetting” the sentence:
- Ef ég verð veikur á morgun, þá... Ég kem ekki. (more like two beats / more emphatic)
Icelandic commonly uses the present tense for future events when the time is clear from context (here, á morgun makes it future). It’s like English I’m not coming tomorrow (present form, future meaning).
You can add a future auxiliary for emphasis or certainty, e.g. mun:
- ... þá mun ég ekki koma. = then I will not come
But the original is completely normal.
In simple main clauses, ekki often comes after the finite verb and after the subject (and often late in the clause):
- kem ég ekki = I’m not coming
If there’s an object or more structure, placement can vary, but the key beginner rule is: ekki typically follows the verb phrase rather than preceding it (unlike English do not come).
- verð = 1st person singular present of verða (I become / I get)
- kem = 1st person singular present of koma (I come)
So word-for-word structure is roughly:
- Ef (if) ég (I) verð (become/get) veikur (ill) á morgun (tomorrow), þá (then) kem (come) ég (I) ekki (not).
Yes—standard Icelandic punctuation uses a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause:
- Ef ... , þá ...
In informal writing you may see variation, but the comma here is considered correct and expected.
A practical approximation:
- verð: the ð is a soft voiced “th” sound like in this (often very light in fast speech)
- þá: þ is the voiceless “th” like thing, so thow (with Icelandic á like a long ow/au sound)
- ekki: the kk is a strong/long k sound; stress is on the first syllable: EKK-i (Icelandic stress is almost always on the first syllable)