Klukkan slær níu, svo við förum heim.

The clock strikes nine, so we go home.

Breakdown of Klukkan slær níu, svo við förum heim.

• við: we
• fara: to go
• heim: home
• svo: so
• níu: nine
• klukkan: the clock
• slá: to hit

Questions & Answers about Klukkan slær níu, svo við förum heim.

Why is it klukkan (with -an) and not klukka?

Klukkan is the definite form: klukkan = the clock / the bell (literally “the clock”).
The indefinite form is klukka = a clock / a bell. In time-telling Icelandic often uses the definite form when talking about “the time/clock” in a general, contextual way.

---

What does the verb slær mean here, and what is its base form?

Slær is the present tense of slá (to strike / hit). With clocks it means to strike (an hour), like English the clock strikes nine.
Conjugation (present indicative) looks like:

• ég slæ
• þú slærð
• hún/það slær
• við sláum
• þið sláið
• þeir/þær/þau slá

---

Is níu the object of the verb? Does it take a case ending?

Yes, in this expression the hour (níu) behaves like the “thing struck,” i.e., the object-like complement of slær. Numerals like níu don’t have a special visible case ending here, so it stays níu.

---

Could I also just say Klukkan er níu? What’s the difference?

Yes. Klukkan er níu is the neutral, everyday way to say It’s nine o’clock.
Klukkan slær níu is more like The clock strikes nine—more vivid/stylistic, and it often suggests the moment the hour “hits.”

---

What does svo mean here—so, then, or therefore?

Here svo works like so / therefore, linking cause → result:

• Klukkan slær níu, svo við förum heim. = The clock strikes nine, so we go home.

Depending on context, svo can also mean then, but in this structure it commonly reads as a reason/result link.

---

Why is there a comma before svo?

Because you have two independent clauses: 1) Klukkan slær níu
2) svo við förum heim
The comma marks the boundary between them, similar to English ..., so ....

---

Why is it við förum (present tense) if it refers to the future (“when it strikes nine”)?

Icelandic often uses the present tense for scheduled/regular future events, much like English:

• At nine, we go home.
  So við förum can describe a planned routine: when nine comes, that’s what happens.

---

Does við here mean we, not with?

Yes—here við is the pronoun we (subject of förum).
Icelandic við can also be a preposition meaning by/at/with (next to), but in this sentence it’s clearly the pronoun because it’s followed by a verb (förum).

---

Could við förum heim be understood as “Let’s go home”?

On its own, Förum heim! is the common “Let’s go home!” (1st person plural imperative / hortative).
In ..., svo við förum heim, it’s read as a normal statement (so we go home), not a command, because it’s inside a cause-result sentence.

---

Why is it heim without a preposition (not “to home”)?

Heim works as an adverb meaning home (wards), so no preposition is needed:

• fara heim = go home
  If you specify a home as a place (a house), you might use something like heim til mín (to my place/home) depending on meaning, but the basic “go home” is simply fara heim.