Við göngum á gangstéttinni þegar umferðin er mikil.

We walk on the sidewalk when the traffic is heavy.

Breakdown of Við göngum á gangstéttinni þegar umferðin er mikil.

• vera: to be
• við: we
• á: on
• ganga: to walk

Questions & Answers about Við göngum á gangstéttinni þegar umferðin er mikil.

Why is it Við göngum and not just Göngum?

Við means we, and göngum is the 1st person plural form of the verb að ganga (to walk).

Icelandic often allows the subject pronoun to be included for clarity or emphasis, and in a normal learner sentence like this, Við göngum is the standard way to say we walk or we are walking.

• við = we
• göngum = walk / are walking

So Við göngum means we walk.

What verb is göngum from, and why does it look so different from the dictionary form?

Göngum comes from the verb að ganga, which means to walk, to go on foot, and in some contexts to go.

The dictionary form is the infinitive: ganga.
But in the sentence, the verb is conjugated to match we:

• ég geng = I walk
• þú gengur = you walk
• hann/hún/það gengur = he/she/it walks
• við göngum = we walk
• þið gangið = you all walk
• þeir/þær/þau ganga = they walk

The vowel changes are normal in Icelandic verb conjugation, so ganga becoming göngum is something you just learn as part of the verb pattern.