Breakdown of Við eigum eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið áður en fundurinn byrjar.
Questions & Answers about Við eigum eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið áður en fundurinn byrjar.
What does eigum eftir að mean here?
In this sentence, eiga eftir að + verb means something like to still have left to do or to still need to do.
So:
- Við eigum eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið
= We still have to fill out the form / We have yet to fill out the form
This is a very common Icelandic structure. It does not literally mean possession here, even though eiga often means to own or to have.
A few similar examples:
- Ég á eftir að hringja.
= I still have to call. - Þau eiga eftir að klára verkefnið.
= They still have to finish the project.
Why is it eigum and not eiga?
Because við is we, and the verb has to agree with the subject.
The infinitive is eiga, but here it is conjugated in the present tense:
- ég á = I have
- þú átt = you have
- hann/hún/það á = he/she/it has
- við eigum = we have
- þið eigið = you (plural) have
- þeir/þær/þau eiga = they have
So:
- Við eigum eftir að...
= We still have to...
Why is there an að before fylla út?
The að here is the infinitive marker, like to in English.
So:
- að fylla út = to fill out
After the expression eiga eftir, Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive:
- á eftir að fara = still has to go
- eigum eftir að lesa = still have to read
So the pattern is:
- subject + eiga + eftir + að + infinitive
Is fylla út one verb?
Yes. Fylla út is a verb phrase meaning to fill out.
- fylla = fill
- út = out
Very often in Icelandic, a verb and a particle work together like this, similar to English phrasal verbs.
Here:
- fylla út eyðublaðið = fill out the form
You may also notice that the particle can sometimes appear in slightly different positions depending on the structure, but in this sentence fylla út is the normal form.
What case is eyðublaðið, and why does it have -ið at the end?
Eyðublaðið is the definite singular neuter form of eyðublað (form).
Breakdown:
- eyðublað = a form
- eyðublaðið = the form
The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually adds the to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.
In this sentence, eyðublaðið is the object of fylla út, so it is in the accusative. For this noun, nominative and accusative singular happen to look the same:
- nominative: eyðublaðið
- accusative: eyðublaðið
So you do not see a visible change here, but grammatically it is still the object.
Why is it áður en fundurinn byrjar and not something with a future tense?
Icelandic often uses the present tense when English would use a future meaning after time words like before, when, after, and so on.
So:
- áður en fundurinn byrjar
literally: before the meeting starts natural English: before the meeting starts/begins
Even though it refers to the future, Icelandic normally keeps the verb in the present tense here:
- þegar hann kemur = when he comes
- áður en við förum = before we go
- eftir að hún vaknar = after she wakes up
That is completely normal Icelandic grammar.
Why is fundurinn after áður en, and what exactly does it mean?
Fundurinn means the meeting.
Breakdown:
- fundur = meeting
- fundurinn = the meeting
It is the subject of byrjar:
- fundurinn byrjar = the meeting starts
So the whole clause:
- áður en fundurinn byrjar
= before the meeting starts
This is just a subordinate clause introduced by áður en = before.
Why is the word order Við eigum eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið and not with the verb later?
This is normal main-clause Icelandic word order.
In a regular statement, Icelandic usually puts the finite verb in second position:
- Við = subject
- eigum = finite verb
- eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið = the rest of the predicate
So the structure is very natural:
- Við | eigum | eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið
If something else came first for emphasis, the finite verb would still usually stay in second position. For example:
- Eyðublaðið eigum við eftir að fylla út.
= The form, we still have to fill out.
That second-position rule is a major feature of Icelandic.
Could this sentence also mean we will fill out the form later?
Not exactly. The emphasis is not just on future time, but on something that remains undone.
Við eigum eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið means:
- We still have to fill out the form
- We have yet to fill out the form
It suggests the task is not done yet.
If you simply wanted to say we will fill out the form later, you might choose a different wording depending on context, such as one with síðar (later) or a plain future meaning from the present tense.
So eiga eftir að specifically highlights remaining obligation / incompletion.
Can áður en be followed by other tenses, or is the present tense always used?
It can be followed by other tenses when the context requires them, but in sentences about the future, the present tense is very common and normal.
In your sentence:
- áður en fundurinn byrjar
= before the meeting starts
That is the standard way to say it.
But with past reference, you can of course use past tense:
- Við fylltum út eyðublaðið áður en fundurinn byrjaði.
= We filled out the form before the meeting started.
So the tense depends on the time reference of the sentence as a whole.
How would this sentence sound if the subject were singular, like I instead of we?
You would change við eigum to ég á:
- Ég á eftir að fylla út eyðublaðið áður en fundurinn byrjar.
= I still have to fill out the form before the meeting starts.
That is a very useful pattern to practice:
- Ég á eftir að... = I still have to...
- Þú átt eftir að... = You still have to...
- Við eigum eftir að... = We still have to...
Is this sentence formal, neutral, or conversational?
It is quite neutral and very natural Icelandic. It would work well in everyday speech, workplace communication, and ordinary writing.
Nothing in it is especially literary or especially slangy.
In fact, both of these parts are very common in normal Icelandic:
- eiga eftir að for still have to / have yet to
- áður en... byrjar for before ... starts
So this is a very useful real-life sentence pattern to learn.
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