Við göngum frá íbúðinni áður en gestirnir koma.

We tidy up the apartment before the guests come.

Breakdown of Við göngum frá íbúðinni áður en gestirnir koma.

• við: we
• áður en: before
• koma: to come
• gesturinn: the guest
• íbúðin: the apartment
• ganga frá: to tidy up

Questions & Answers about Við göngum frá íbúðinni áður en gestirnir koma.

Why does göngum frá not seem to mean “walk from” here?

In Icelandic, að ganga frá is a common phrasal verb meaning to finish up / put things in order / tidy up (and leave things properly arranged). It’s often used about cleaning, putting away, packing up, or closing down a place.
So Við göngum frá is understood idiomatically as we tidy up / we finish up (here) rather than literally walking.

What is the grammar of Við göngum?

• Við = we (1st person plural pronoun).
• göngum = present tense, 1st person plural of að ganga (to walk, but in að ganga frá it becomes idiomatic).
  Icelandic verbs agree with the subject, so the ending -um signals we.

Why is it frá and what does it do in this sentence?

Frá is a preposition that often means from, but in the fixed expression að ganga frá it functions as part of the verb phrase (a bit like English tidy up, where up is not literal).
You’ll also see similar constructions like að ganga frá borði (clear the table) or að ganga frá dóti (put away stuff).

Why is it íbuðinni (with -inni) instead of just íbuð or íbuðina?

Because frá normally governs the dative case.

• íbúð (feminine) base form
• íbúðinni = the apartment in dative singular definite (“to/from the apartment” depending on the preposition)
  The -inni ending here signals dative + definite for a feminine noun.

What’s the difference between íbúðinni and íbúðinni without the article—can I say frá íbúð?

You could say frá íbúð only in limited, less natural contexts (like “from an apartment” in a very general/abstract sense). In everyday Icelandic you’d normally use either:

• frá íbúð (indefinite, uncommon here), or more naturally
• frá íbúðinni = from the apartment (a specific one), or
• frá íbúð with an adjective/descriptor that makes it specific (e.g., frá nýrri íbúð = from a new apartment).

Why is áður en followed by gestirnir koma (present tense) instead of something like “will come”?

Icelandic commonly uses the present tense in time clauses even when English would use future:

• áður en gestirnir koma = literally “before the guests come,” meaning “before the guests will come.”
  So koma is present tense, but the time meaning can be future relative to now.

What case/ending is gestirnir and why does it look like that?

gestirnir means the guests and is:

• noun gestur (masculine)
• gestir = nominative plural
• gestirnir = nominative plural definite (“the guests”)
  In this clause (gestirnir koma), gestirnir is the subject, so it’s in the nominative.

Why is the word order áður en gestirnir koma and not something like áður en koma gestirnir?

In subordinate clauses introduced by en (as part of áður en), the normal order is subject + verb:

• ... áður en gestirnir koma
  Inversion (verb before subject) is typical in main clauses after something is fronted, but not in this kind of subordinate clause.

Is there any special grammar triggered by áður en (like subjunctive)?

Not in modern everyday Icelandic. Áður en simply introduces a time clause (“before …”). The verb after it is usually in the indicative (often present, sometimes past depending on context), not a special subjunctive form.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts: Við, göngum, íbúðinni, gestirnir?

Approximate guidance (accents vary by speaker):

• Við: the ð is like the th in this → roughly vith
• göngum: ö is like a rounded vowel (somewhere between “uh/er” with lip rounding); ng is like ng in sing → roughly GURNG-um (very approximate)
• íbúðinni: stress on the first syllable Í-; ð again like th in this → roughly EE-booth-in-nih (approx.)
• gestirnir: stress on ges-; the -nir is like nir with a light r → roughly GES-tir-nir