Questions & Answers about Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa lampa fyrir ganginn og gardínu fyrir svefnherbergið.
What does eigum enn eftir að kaupa mean as a whole?
This is a very common Icelandic pattern:
- eiga eftir að + infinitive
It means to still have left to do something, to still need to do something, or to have yet to do something.
So:
- Við eigum eftir að kaupa... = We still have to buy... / We have yet to buy...
Adding enn makes the idea of still even clearer:
- Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa... = We still still have left to buy..., more naturally We still have yet to buy...
In natural English, you would usually translate the whole phrase smoothly, not word for word.
Why is eigum used here? Doesn’t eiga usually mean to own?
Yes, eiga often means to own or to have:
- Ég á bíl = I own a car / I have a car
But in the expression eiga eftir að + infinitive, it has a different idiomatic meaning. It no longer means literal ownership. Instead, it means something like:
- to have left to do
- to still need to do
So in this sentence, eigum is not about possession. It is part of a fixed expression.
What does enn add to the sentence?
Enn usually means still.
In this sentence, it emphasizes that the action has not happened yet and remains unfinished.
Compare:
- Við eigum eftir að kaupa lampa... = We still have to buy a lamp...
- Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa lampa... = We still have to buy a lamp... with a slightly stronger sense of still
Very often, eiga eftir að already implies that something remains to be done, so enn is not strictly necessary. But it is very natural and adds emphasis.
Why is the verb in the present tense, eigum, if the buying will happen in the future?
Because the sentence describes a present situation:
- Right now, we are in the state of still needing to buy these things.
So the present tense makes sense. Icelandic often uses the present tense in exactly this way, just as English does in sentences like:
- We still need to buy a lamp
- We still have to buy a curtain
The action of buying is future, but the need or unfinished status exists now.
Why is it að kaupa? What is að doing here?
Here að is the infinitive marker, like to in English:
- að kaupa = to buy
In the construction eiga eftir að + infinitive, the að is required.
So:
- eiga eftir að kaupa
- not eiga eftir kaupa
This whole structure is best learned as one unit:
- eiga eftir að gera eitthvað = to still have something left to do
Why are the words lampa and gardínu not in their dictionary forms?
Because they are direct objects of kaupa (to buy), and direct objects are often in the accusative case in Icelandic.
Dictionary forms:
- lampi = a lamp
- gardína = a curtain
Accusative singular forms:
- lampa
- gardínu
So:
- kaupa lampa = buy a lamp
- kaupa gardínu = buy a curtain
This is a normal accusative pattern after many verbs, including kaupa.
What does fyrir mean here? Is it really for, not in front of?
Here fyrir means for.
So:
- lampa fyrir ganginn = a lamp for the hallway
- gardínu fyrir svefnherbergið = a curtain for the bedroom
You are right that fyrir can also mean other things in other contexts, including meanings related to before or in front of, depending on case and usage. But here the meaning is clearly for, expressing purpose or intended location/use.
So the lamp is intended for the hallway, and the curtain is intended for the bedroom.
Why is it ganginn and svefnherbergið after fyrir?
There are two useful things to notice here.
1. They are definite
- ganginn = the hallway
- svefnherbergið = the bedroom
Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.
2. fyrir here takes the accusative
In this meaning, fyrir is followed by the accusative case.
So:
- gangur → accusative definite ganginn
- svefnherbergi → accusative definite svefnherbergið
For svefnherbergið, the accusative and nominative definite forms happen to look the same, because it is a neuter noun.
Why are the hallway and the bedroom definite here?
Because the sentence is talking about specific rooms, probably in a particular home or apartment.
In Icelandic, when you mean a specific room that both speaker and listener can identify, the definite form is very natural:
- gangurinn = the hallway
- svefnherbergið = the bedroom
So this sentence is not talking about just any hallway or any bedroom in general. It means the particular hallway and bedroom relevant to the speakers.
What are the base forms and genders of the nouns in the sentence?
Here are the main nouns:
- lampi — masculine — a lamp
- gangur — masculine — a hallway / corridor
- gardína — feminine — a curtain
- svefnherbergi — neuter — a bedroom
Forms used in the sentence:
- lampa = accusative singular of lampi
- ganginn = accusative singular definite of gangur
- gardínu = accusative singular of gardína
- svefnherbergið = accusative singular definite of svefnherbergi
Knowing the gender helps a lot, because it affects endings and article forms.
Could Icelandic say this in a different way, such as with þurfum að?
Yes. A few alternatives are possible, but they are not exactly identical in nuance.
1. Við þurfum enn að kaupa...
This means:
- We still need to buy...
This is very natural and straightforward.
2. Við höfum ekki enn keypt...
This means:
- We haven’t bought ... yet
This focuses more on the fact that the action has not happened.
3. Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa...
This emphasizes that the buying is still left to do.
So the original sentence has a nice sense of unfinished items still remaining on the list.
Is the word order important? Why is enn placed where it is?
The placement is natural because enn modifies the idea that something remains to be done:
- Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa...
That is the most neutral word order here.
Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, but not completely free. In this sentence, the given order sounds normal and idiomatic.
For a learner, the safest approach is to learn the whole chunk:
- eiga enn eftir að + infinitive
That will help you produce natural Icelandic without overthinking the placement every time.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning IcelandicMaster Icelandic — from Við eigum enn eftir að kaupa lampa fyrir ganginn og gardínu fyrir svefnherbergið to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions