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Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni.

Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni.
I am blowing up the balloons in the living room.

Breakdown of Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni.

ég
I
í
in
stofan
the living room
blaðran
the balloon
blása upp
to blow up
vera að
to be (doing)
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Questions & Answers about Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni.

Why does the sentence start with Ég er að ...? Is that like English I am ...-ing?

Yes. Ég er að + infinitive is the most common way to express an action in progress in modern Icelandic (a progressive-like construction).

  • Ég er = I am
  • að blása = to blow (infinitive introduced by að) So Ég er að blása ... corresponds closely to I’m blowing ... / I’m in the middle of blowing ... (i.e., doing it right now).
What role does að play here? Why is it needed before blása?

Here að is an infinitive marker used after certain verbs and constructions, including vera að.

  • vera að + infinitive is a fixed pattern meaning “to be in the process of doing.” You generally can’t drop að in this construction: Ég er að blása ... is natural; Ég er blása ... is not.
Is blása upp one verb or two words? What does upp add?

It’s a common verb + particle combination (a “phrasal verb”-like unit):

  • blása = to blow
  • blása upp = to inflate / blow up (make something expand with air) So upp contributes the idea of “up/expanded,” giving the specific meaning “inflate.”
Can the word order change? Could I also say Ég er að blása blöðrurnar upp?

Yes, both are possible:

  • Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar.
  • Ég er að blása blöðrurnar upp. Both mean “I’m inflating the balloons.” The placement of the particle upp can vary; learners often meet both patterns in real Icelandic.
Why is it blöðrurnar and not blöðrur?

Because blöðrurnar is definite: “the balloons.”

  • blöðrur = balloons (indefinite plural)
  • blöðrurnar = the balloons (definite plural, with the definite article attached as a suffix)
What case is blöðrurnar in, and how do I know?

It’s the direct object of blása upp (“inflate something”), so it’s in the accusative. For this noun, the definite plural form blöðrurnar can match what you’d expect as accusative plural definite in many declension patterns. A practical rule: after many action verbs, the thing being acted on is very often accusative in Icelandic.

Why is it í stofunni and not í stofuna?

Because í changes case depending on meaning:

  • í + dative = location (“in” a place, staying there)
  • í + accusative = motion/direction (“into” a place) Here it means you are doing the action while located in the living room, so it takes dative:
  • stofan (the living room) → dative with definite ending: stofunni
What is the base form of stofunni?

The base (dictionary) form is stofa (“living room”). Common forms you’ll see:

  • stofa = a living room (indefinite)
  • stofan = the living room (definite, nominative)
  • stofu = (various oblique cases, indefinite)
  • stofunni = to/in the living room (dative, definite)
Do I need to include the location í stofunni, and where does it usually go?

It’s optional information: you include it if you want to specify where. Position-wise, Icelandic often puts place phrases toward the end, like here:

  • Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni. But it can be moved for emphasis or style, especially in longer sentences.
How do you pronounce Ég er að blása upp blöðrurnar í stofunni (roughly)?

A rough guide (approximate, varies by speaker):

  • Ég: like “yeh” with a voiced back sound at the end (often softened)
  • er: like “eh(r)”
  • að: like “ahth” (the ð is a soft voiced “th” sound)
  • blása: blou-sa (first syllable stressed)
  • upp: like up (short)
  • blöðrurnar: roughly bluh-thru-rnar (the ö is like German ö; ð is voiced “th”)
  • í: like “ee”
  • stofunni: roughly stoh-fun-nih (stress on the first syllable)
Does blöðrur ever get confused with blöð (leaves/sheets)? The words look similar.

They’re related-looking but different words:

  • blað (plural blöð) = a sheet/leaf (paper, page, leaf)
  • blaðra (plural blöðrur) = a balloon / blister (context-dependent) In this sentence, blöðrurnar clearly means the balloons because of the verb blása upp (inflate).