Breakdown of Þó að ég sé líka með kvef, er ég samt án hita.
Questions & Answers about Þó að ég sé líka með kvef, er ég samt án hita.
Þó að means although / even though and introduces a subordinate (dependent) clause. In Icelandic, clauses introduced by þó að typically take the subjunctive mood, which is why you see sé instead of er later in that clause.
Because sé is the present subjunctive of the verb að vera (to be). After conjunctions like þó að (although), Icelandic often uses the subjunctive to mark something concessive (granting a point), hypothetical, or contrasted with what follows.
- Indicative present: ég er = I am
- Subjunctive present: ég sé = still translates as I am here, but the mood is different because of the grammar.
The comma separates the introductory subordinate clause from the main clause:
- Subordinate clause: Þó að ég sé líka með kvef
- Main clause: er ég samt án hita
This comma is standard in Icelandic when a subordinate clause comes first.
Icelandic has a strong V2 (verb-second) tendency in main clauses. When something else (like an introductory clause) comes first, the finite verb typically comes next—so the subject moves after the verb:
- If the main clause stood alone: Ég er samt án hita.
- With the subordinate clause first: ..., er ég samt án hita.
This is similar to English patterns like After that, came the storm (more literary in English, but normal in Icelandic).
líka means also / too. Its position is flexible, but placing it after the verb (sé líka) is very common and usually means in addition to something implied by context (for example, “I have other symptoms too” or “someone else has a cold and I do as well,” depending on context).
You might also see:
- Þó að ég sé með kvef líka, ... (more emphasis on also)
Icelandic commonly expresses “having” many illnesses with að vera með + accusative noun:
- vera með kvef = have a cold
- vera með flensu = have the flu
So með here is not literally “with” in the English sense, but it maps to a common Icelandic pattern for conditions and ailments.
After með (in this meaning), Icelandic uses the accusative. kvef is a neuter noun whose accusative form is the same as the nominative (kvef), so you don’t see a visible change.
samt means still / nevertheless / all the same and signals contrast: “despite what I just said, this is true.”
- samt = contrast / concession (nevertheless)
- ennþá (or enn) = continuation in time (still, as in “up to now”)
In this sentence, samt fits because it contrasts with having a cold: despite that, there’s no fever.
The preposition án (without) governs the genitive case. The noun hiti (fever/heat) changes to genitive hita:
- Nominative: hiti
- Genitive: hita So án hita = without fever.
Yes—hiti can mean heat, but in health contexts it commonly means fever (like “raised temperature”). Icelandic often uses temperature/heat words for fever-related meaning, and án hita is a standard medical-style phrasing.
Yes, both are possible:
- Ég er án hita. = more formal/clinical: I am without a fever.
- Ég er ekki með hita. = very common everyday phrasing: I don’t have a fever.
With the concessive opener you could say:
- Þó að ég sé líka með kvef, er ég samt ekki með hita.
A rough guide (accent varies by speaker):
- Þó: like thoh (unvoiced th as in thin)
- að: like ath (the ð is often a soft “th” sound; in fast speech it can be very light)
- sé: like syeh (a “yeh” quality after s)
- kvef: roughly kvehv (short vowel; final f can sound like v before a voiced sound, but often stays f at pause)
- án: like own (long á)
- hita: like hi-ta (short i, clear t)