Við göngum yfir göngubrúna af því að umferðin er mikil við hjólastíginn.

Göngum is the 1st person plural present tense of ganga, so Við göngum means we walk or we are walking, depending on context.

Icelandic present tense often covers both:

• a general action: we walk
• an action happening now: we are walking

So the exact English translation depends on the situation.

Ganga specifically means to walk / to go on foot.

That makes it more precise than fara, which is a more general go / travel / leave verb.

So:

• Við göngum = we walk / we go on foot
• Við förum = we go more generally

Since the sentence is about crossing a pedestrian bridge, ganga fits very naturally.

Yfir means over / across. With movement from one side to another, Icelandic uses yfir to show crossing.

So yfir göngubrúna means across the footbridge / over the footbridge.

In this sentence, the idea is movement across it, not just being located above something.

Göngubrúna is the accusative singular definite form of göngubrú.

Breakdown:

• göngubrú = footbridge / pedestrian bridge
• göngubrúna = the footbridge as the object of movement after yfir

This happens because yfir commonly takes the accusative when it describes motion across or over something.

So:

• yfir göngubrúna = across the footbridge

Those endings are the suffixed definite article in Icelandic. Instead of usually putting a separate word for the before the noun, Icelandic often attaches it to the end of the noun.

So:

• umferð = traffic

• umferðin = the traffic

• göngubrú = footbridge

• göngubrúna = the footbridge in accusative

• hjólastígur = bike path / cycle path
• hjólastíginn = the bike path in accusative

This is a very basic and important feature of Icelandic nouns.

Af því að means because.

It introduces the reason:

• Við göngum yfir göngubrúna af því að ...
• We walk across the footbridge because ...

It is a very common way to say because in Icelandic.

Literally, the pieces are not something you should translate word-for-word here. As a whole, just learn af því að as a fixed expression meaning because.

Yes. Very often, especially in speech and informal language, af því að may be reduced to því að.

So both can mean because:

• af því að
• því að

For a learner, it is useful to recognize both. The longer form in your sentence is completely normal and clear.

This is a normal subordinate clause after af því að.

In the clause:

• umferðin = subject
• er = verb
• mikil = predicate adjective

So the structure is simply:

• the traffic is heavy

Icelandic main clauses often follow the verb-second pattern, but subordinate clauses are more straightforward and do not behave the same way. Here, the word order is exactly what you would expect:

• subject + verb + adjective

Because mikil has to agree with umferðin.

The noun umferð is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative here

So the adjective must match it:

• mikil

Compare:

• masculine singular: mikill
• feminine singular: mikil
• neuter singular: mikið

Since umferð is feminine, mikil is the correct form.

Umferð usually means traffic, but more literally it is about movement, circulation, or traffic flow.

In everyday Icelandic, umferð is the normal word for road traffic and general traffic conditions.

So umferðin er mikil means:

• the traffic is heavy
• or more literally, the traffic is great/a lot

Icelandic often uses the definite form in places where English might not.

So umferðin er mikil is very natural Icelandic, even though English often prefers:

• traffic is heavy

Icelandic is often referring to the traffic in the situation already being discussed, so the traffic feels natural.

This is something English speakers need to get used to: Icelandic article usage does not always match English exactly.

Here við means by, at, near.

So:

• við hjólastíginn = by the bike path / near the bike path

It tells you where the traffic is heavy.

This við is very common for location near something.

Because við takes the accusative in this kind of expression.

The noun is hjólastígur:

• nominative: hjólastígurinn
• accusative: hjólastíginn

So after við, you get:

• við hjólastíginn

This is something you will need to learn together with the preposition: Icelandic prepositions often control a specific case.

Yes, both are classic Icelandic compounds.

• göngubrú = walking + bridge → footbridge / pedestrian bridge
• hjólastígur = bicycle/wheel + path → bike path / cycle path

Icelandic forms a huge number of everyday nouns this way, so getting comfortable with compounds is very helpful.

Yes. They are related to the same basic idea of walking.

• göngum comes from the verb ganga = to walk
• göngubrú contains göngu-, a compound form connected with walking

So göngubrú is literally a bridge for walking, which is why it means footbridge or pedestrian bridge.

This kind of stem change inside related words is very common in Icelandic.