Ef þú kemur seint, þá bíð ég í smástund.

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Breakdown of Ef þú kemur seint, þá bíð ég í smástund.

• þú: you
• seint: late
• í: for

Questions & Answers about Ef þú kemur seint, þá bíð ég í smástund.

Why does Icelandic use kemur and bíð here instead of a future tense?

Icelandic very often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the meaning is clear from context.

So:

• Ef þú kemur seint = literally If you come late
• þá bíð ég í smástund = literally then I wait a little while

But in natural English, this is often translated as:

• If you come late, then I’ll wait a little while

This is normal in Icelandic, especially in if-clauses, schedules, plans, and other situations where the future meaning is obvious.

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What form is kemur?

Kemur is the 2nd person singular present tense of koma (to come).

The subject is þú (you, singular), so the verb has to match that:

• ég kem = I come
• þú kemur = you come
• hann/hún/það kemur = he/she/it comes

So Ef þú kemur seint literally means If you come late.

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What form is bíð?