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Hún er með kvef og hósta, svo hún kemur ekki í partíið.

Hún er með kvef og hósta, svo hún kemur ekki í partíið.
She has a cold and a cough, so she isn’t coming to the party.

Breakdown of Hún er með kvef og hósta, svo hún kemur ekki í partíið.

ekki
not
hún
she
koma
to come
og
and
svo
so
vera með
to have
partíið
the party
í
to/into
kvefið
the cold
hóstinn
the cough
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Questions & Answers about Hún er með kvef og hósta, svo hún kemur ekki í partíið.

Why does Icelandic say Hún er með ... to mean she has ...? Why not use a verb like to have?

Icelandic often expresses temporary conditions (especially illnesses/symptoms) with vera með (to be with):

  • Hún er með kvef. = She has a cold.
  • Hún er með hósta. = She has a cough.

There is a verb að hafa (to have), but vera með is extremely common for things like symptoms, infections, and sometimes items you’re carrying:

  • Ég er með lykla. = I’ve got keys (on me).
    Using hafa here can sound less natural in many everyday contexts.
What do kvef and hósti/hósta mean exactly, and how are they used?
  • kvef = a cold (as in the common cold). It’s a noun that often stays the same across cases in the singular.
  • hósti (dictionary form) = a cough. In this sentence it appears as hósta because of case (see below).

Together, kvef og hósta means a cold and a cough.

Why is it hósta and not hósti?

Because með usually takes the accusative case in modern Icelandic.

  • Nominative (dictionary form): hósti
  • Accusative: hósta

So: með hósta = with a cough / having a cough.
Meanwhile kvef looks the same in nominative and accusative singular, so you don’t see a change there.

What role does svo play here? Does it mean so, then, or therefore?

In this sentence svo means so / therefore, introducing a result:

  • ... , svo hún kemur ekki ... = ..., so she isn’t coming ...

Depending on context, svo can also mean then (sequence), but here it’s clearly the “result” meaning.

Why is hún repeated: Hún er ... , svo hún kemur ...?

In Icelandic it’s very normal to repeat the subject after svo (and similar connectors), especially in clear, simple sentences.
You can sometimes omit it in some styles, but repeating hún is common and natural: it keeps the second clause explicit and easy to follow.

How does negation work in hún kemur ekki? Why is ekki placed there?

ekki generally comes after the finite verb (the conjugated verb) in a simple clause:

  • hún kemur ekki = she doesn’t come / she isn’t coming

So the typical pattern is: Subject + verb + ekki + ...

What tense is kemur, and does it mean isn’t coming or doesn’t come?

kemur is present tense of að koma (to come). Icelandic present tense often covers both:

  • habitual/general: she doesn’t come
  • near-future/planned: she isn’t coming / she won’t come (in this situation)

Given the context (illness + a specific party), the natural reading is she isn’t coming (to the party).

Why is it í partíið and not á partíið or something else?

With events like parties, Icelandic commonly uses í (into/to) as the standard preposition:

  • koma í partí = come to a party

Other prepositions exist in other event contexts (and regional/style variation happens), but koma í partí is a very typical pairing.

Why does partí become partíið with that double i?

partí is a neuter loanword meaning party. The -ið ending is the definite article suffix for neuter singular (the).
So:

  • partí = a party
  • partíið = the party

Since the word already ends in í, adding -ið produces partí + ið → partíið (written with íi next to each other).

Is partíið a different case here, or just “the party”?

It’s definite (“the party”), and it’s also the form used after í when motion/destination is involved (typically accusative after í).

For neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative forms are often identical, so partíið looks the same even though the grammar is “destination/accusative.”

How would you pronounce key parts like með, kvef, and hósta?

Approximate pronunciations (very rough English-friendly guide):

  • með: like meth but with voiced ð like th in this (not thin)
  • kvef: roughly kvehv (the kv is a single cluster; the final f is voiceless)
  • hósta: roughly HOH-sta (first syllable long)

Also, accents matter: ó is a different vowel from o, and í is a long “ee”-type vowel.