Tómatar seljast upp í búðinni, svo ég kaupi þá strax.

Tomatoes sell out in the store, so I buy them right away.

Breakdown of Tómatar seljast upp í búðinni, svo ég kaupi þá strax.

• ég: I
• kaupa: to buy
• búðin: the store
• í: in
• svo: so
• tómaturinn: the tomato
• strax: right away
• þá: them
• seljast upp: to sell out

Questions & Answers about Tómatar seljast upp í búðinni, svo ég kaupi þá strax.

What does seljast mean here, and why does it end in -st?

Seljast is the “middle/passive” form related to selja (to sell). In practice it often means to sell (well/quickly) or to get sold, without stating who sells them.

• Búðin selur tómata. = The shop sells tomatoes. (active; the shop is the seller)
• Tómatar seljast. = Tomatoes sell / get sold. (focus on the tomatoes and the outcome)

So -st is a very common way in Icelandic to make an intransitive/passive-like meaning from an active verb.

What does upp add in seljast upp? Can I omit it?

Upp functions like a particle in a phrasal verb and adds the idea of completely → sell out.

• seljast = sell / get sold
• seljast upp = sell out (completely)

You can omit upp, but then you lose the “sold out” meaning and it becomes more like “tomatoes sell (well).”

Is Tómatar seljast upp describing something happening right now, or a general habit?

It can be either, because Icelandic present tense covers both:

• habitual/general: Tomatoes sell out (there), so I buy them right away.
• right now / current situation (with context): Tomatoes are selling out, so I’m buying them right away.

If you want to force the “often”/habit meaning, you can add oft: Tómatar seljast oft upp...

Why is it í búðinni and not í búðina?

Because í takes:

• dative for location/static position (in the store) → í búðinni
• accusative for motion/direction (into the store) → í búðina

Here it’s location: they sell out in the store, so dative is used.

Why is it búðinni (with -inni) instead of just búð?

búðinni is the definite form (“the store”). Icelandic often uses the definite form when you mean a specific known place in context.

• í búð = in a (some) store (more indefinite/generic)
• í búðinni = in the store (a particular one, or the one we’ve been talking about)

How does svo work here—does it mean “so/therefore” or “so that”?

Here svo is functioning like so/therefore, introducing a result: X happens, so I do Y. If you mean purpose (“so that”), Icelandic typically uses svo að:

• Result: ..., svo ég kaupi þá strax.
• Purpose: ..., svo að ég kaupi þá strax. = ..., so that I buy them immediately.

(Real-life usage can overlap, but svo að is the clearer “so that.”)

Why is the word order svo ég kaupi... and not svo kaupi ég...?

Because in your sentence svo is acting like a conjunction meaning “so/therefore,” and the clause keeps normal order: subject + verb → ég kaupi.

If you use svo more like “then/and then” as an adverbial starter, you can get inversion:

• Svo kaupi ég þá strax. = Then I buy them right away.

So both can exist, but they don’t feel identical.

Why is the pronoun þá used, and what exactly is it referring to?

þá is “them” (accusative plural masculine) referring back to tómatar.

• tómatur is masculine → plural tómatar
• Object of kaupa requires accusative → þá

You could repeat the noun (kaupi tómata), but using þá is the natural “them.”

Could it be þær or þau instead of þá?

Not for tómatar, because:

• þær = “they/them” (feminine plural)
• þau = “they/them” (neuter plural)
• þá = “them” (masculine plural accusative)

Since tómatar are masculine, þá is the correct matching form.

Why is the verb seljast (plural) and not selst?

Because the subject tómatar is plural.

• Singular: Tómatur selst upp.
• Plural: Tómatar seljast upp.

So selst matches a singular subject; seljast matches a plural subject.

Is kaupi indicative or subjunctive here—and does it matter?

Formally, ég kaupi can look the same in indicative and subjunctive for this verb. In this sentence it’s best understood as a normal present-tense statement (“so I buy…”).

If you write svo að (purpose), people may interpret it more like a subjunctive/purpose clause, even though the ég kaupi form itself doesn’t change.

Where can strax go in the sentence?

strax (“immediately/right away”) is flexible, but placement changes emphasis slightly:

• ..., svo ég kaupi þá strax. = neutral/natural
• ..., svo ég strax kaupi þá. = more emphasis on “immediately” (can sound a bit marked)
• ..., svo ég kaupi þá umsvifalaust. = similar meaning with a more formal adverb

The given placement is very common.