Þó að það sé kalt, göngum við áfram.

Þó að is a conjunction meaning although, even though, or though.

It is written as two words in this structure:

• þó að það sé kalt = although it is cold

You may also see þótt, which is closely related and often translated the same way. In many contexts, þó að and þótt are both possible, though þó að is especially transparent for learners because it clearly looks like a conjunction phrase.

Sé is the subjunctive form of the verb að vera (to be).

Compare:

• það er kalt = it is cold
• þó að það sé kalt = although it is cold

After conjunctions like þó að, Icelandic often uses the subjunctive, especially when the clause expresses concession, uncertainty, attitude, or something presented in a less direct way.

So this is a very common pattern:

• þó að + subjunctive

That is why sé appears instead of er.

Það means it here.

In weather and temperature expressions, Icelandic often uses það the same way English uses it:

• Það er kalt = It is cold
• literally, something like It is cold

So in þó að það sé kalt, það is the normal subject for the expression it is cold.

Kalt is the neuter singular form of the adjective kaldur (cold).

That happens because it agrees with það, which is grammatically neuter:

• masculine: kaldur
• feminine: köld
• neuter: kalt

So:

• það er kalt = it is cold

This is very common in Icelandic when an adjective describes weather, temperature, or a general condition.

This is because Icelandic follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Þó að það sé kalt = Although it is cold

When that clause comes first, the finite verb of the main clause usually comes next:

• göngum við áfram

So the word order is:

1. subordinate clause
2. finite verb
3. subject
4. rest of the sentence

Compare:

• Við göngum áfram. = We keep walking / We walk on.
• Þó að það sé kalt, göngum við áfram. = Although it is cold, we keep walking.

This inversion is normal and very important in Icelandic sentence structure.

Göngum is the 1st person plural present tense form of að ganga (to walk, to go, sometimes to proceed).

So:

• ég geng = I walk
• við göngum = we walk

In this sentence:

• göngum við áfram = we go on / we keep walking / we continue forward

Because of the word order after the opening clause, the verb comes before the subject, but it is still the same we form.

Áfram means on, forward, or ahead.

In this sentence, it gives the idea of continuing:

• ganga áfram = keep walking, walk on, continue forward

So göngum við áfram is not just we walk, but more like:

• we continue
• we keep going
• we keep walking

The best translation depends on context.

The comma is normal and helpful here because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Þó að það sé kalt, göngum við áfram.

It separates:

1. the concessive clause (although it is cold)
2. the main clause (we keep walking)

You will commonly see this punctuation in written Icelandic.

Yes, very often you could say:

• Þótt það sé kalt, göngum við áfram.

This means essentially the same thing: Although it is cold, we keep walking.

For a learner, it is useful to recognize both:

• þó að
• þótt

Both are common in Icelandic.

It can still describe a real situation.

In Icelandic, the subjunctive after þó að does not automatically mean the whole idea is unreal or imaginary. It is often simply the normal grammar after that conjunction.

So:

• Þó að það sé kalt, göngum við áfram.

can very naturally mean:

• Even though it’s cold, we keep going.

In other words, the cold can be completely real. The subjunctive here is mainly a grammatical feature of the clause type.

You could say:

• Við göngum áfram þó að það sé kalt.

This means the same thing.

The difference is mostly emphasis:

• Þó að það sé kalt, göngum við áfram. puts the although idea first.
• Við göngum áfram þó að það sé kalt. puts the action first: we keep going.

Both are natural, but when the subordinate clause comes first, Icelandic requires the verb-second order in the main clause:

• göngum við, not við göngum.