Questions & Answers about Það er mikil þoka í morgun, svo við keyrum hægar en venjulega.
Why does the sentence start with Það er?
Það er is a very common Icelandic way to say there is / there are or to introduce a situation, especially with weather and general conditions.
So:
- Það er mikil þoka = There is heavy fog
- literally, it is much fog, but in natural English we would not translate it that way
In sentences like this, það often works as a dummy subject, much like it in English weather expressions such as It is raining.
Does það actually refer to anything here?
Not really. In this sentence, það does not point to a specific object or idea. It is just filling the subject position, which Icelandic often requires.
This is similar to English:
- It is cold
- It is foggy
- There is fog
So in Það er mikil þoka, the það is grammatical rather than meaningful in a concrete way.
Why is it mikil þoka?
Because mikil has to agree with þoka.
- þoka = fog
- þoka is a feminine singular noun
- here it is in the nominative, because it is the complement after er
So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:
- mikill = masculine
- mikil = feminine
- mikið = neuter
That is why we get mikil þoka, not mikill þoka or mikið þoka.
Why is there no word for a in mikil þoka?
Because Icelandic does not have an independent indefinite article like English a/an.
So:
- þoka can mean fog or a fog, depending on context
- mikil þoka means heavy fog or a lot of fog
Icelandic does have a definite article, but it is usually attached to the noun:
- þokan = the fog
So:
- mikil þoka = heavy fog
- mikla þokan or þokan mikla would involve the fog, depending on structure and style
Does mikil þoka literally mean much fog or heavy fog?
Literally, mikil þoka is something like much fog or great fog, because mikill basically means big / great / much depending on context.
But in natural English, the best translation is usually:
- heavy fog
- thick fog
This is one of those places where a word-for-word translation sounds less natural than the real meaning.
What does í morgun mean exactly?
Here í morgun means this morning.
This is a very common expression in Icelandic. It does not usually mean in the morning in a general sense. It refers to the current morning or the morning being talked about.
Examples:
- Ég sá hann í morgun. = I saw him this morning.
- Það rigndi í morgun. = It rained this morning.
If you want to say something more general like in the mornings, you would usually express that differently.
Why is it í morgun and not some other case form?
After the preposition í, Icelandic can use either:
- accusative for movement into something, or
- dative for location in something
But with many time expressions, the form has become fixed idiomatically.
í morgun is simply the standard expression for this morning. It is best learned as a set phrase.
So even though case is important in Icelandic, this particular expression is something learners usually memorize whole.
What does svo mean here?
Here svo means so in the sense of therefore / as a result.
So the sentence structure is:
- There is heavy fog this morning, so we drive more slowly than usual.
Be careful, because svo can also mean other things in other contexts, such as:
- then
- thus
- so / very in some expressions
But in this sentence, it clearly means so / therefore.
Why is it við keyrum? What form is keyrum?
keyrum is the 1st person plural present tense of keyra = to drive.
So:
- ég keyri = I drive
- þú keyrir = you drive
- hann/hún/það keyrir = he/she/it drives
- við keyrum = we drive
- þið keyrið = you all drive
- þeir/þær/þau keyra = they drive
So við keyrum simply means we drive or we are driving, depending on context.
Why does Icelandic use the present tense keyrum here?
Because Icelandic often uses the simple present tense where English might use either:
- we drive
- or we are driving
In this sentence, the present tense can describe what is happening in the current situation:
- There is heavy fog this morning, so we are driving more slowly than usual
Icelandic does have ways to emphasize ongoing action, but very often the plain present tense is enough.
Why is it hægar and not hægt?
Because hægar is the comparative adverb.
Here it modifies the verb keyrum:
- keyrum hægar = drive more slowly
Compare the forms:
- hægur / hæg / hægt = slow as an adjective
- hægt can also be the basic adverb slowly
- hægar = more slowly
So:
- Við keyrum hægt. = We drive slowly.
- Við keyrum hægar. = We drive more slowly.
Why is it hægar and not hægari?
Because hægari is the comparative adjective, while hægar is the comparative adverb.
You use:
- hægari to describe a noun
- hægar to describe an action
Examples:
hægari bíll = a slower car
Here it describes bíll, so it must be an adjective.Við keyrum hægar. = We drive more slowly.
Here it describes how we drive, so it must be an adverb.
That distinction is very important in Icelandic.
What does en venjulega mean?
en venjulega means than usual.
- en = than after a comparative
- venjulega = usually / ordinarily / as usual
So:
- hægar en venjulega = more slowly than usual
This is very similar to English comparatives:
- faster than usual
- more carefully than usual
- slower than usual
Why is venjulega an adverb here?
Because it is comparing the manner of the action.
The sentence is not comparing a noun; it is comparing how we drive now versus how we normally drive.
So:
- venjulega = usually / ordinarily
- in this context, en venjulega means than we usually do or more naturally than usual
You can think of the full idea as:
- við keyrum hægar en við keyrum venjulega
But Icelandic, like English, leaves out the repeated part because it is understood.
Why is the word order svo við keyrum and not svo keyrum við?
Because svo here is functioning as a conjunction meaning so / therefore, linking two main clauses.
With this use, normal clause order is:
- svo við keyrum...
That means:
- conjunction + subject + verb
If svo were being used more like an adverb meaning then, you could more naturally get inversion in some contexts, but that is not what is happening here.
So in this sentence, svo við keyrum hægar is the expected pattern.
Could this sentence also be translated as we are driving slower than usual?
Yes. In natural English, that is probably the most idiomatic translation in context.
Even though Icelandic uses the simple present við keyrum, English often prefers the progressive here because it sounds like a situation happening now:
- There is heavy fog this morning, so we are driving slower than usual.
If you wanted a more general statement, English might use:
- There is heavy fog in the mornings, so we drive slower than usual.
But with í morgun, the ongoing-situation reading is very natural.
What should I know about the letters þ and ð in this sentence?
This sentence contains both special Icelandic letters:
- þ in það, þoka
- ð in það, við, venjulega
Very roughly:
- þ is like the th in thing
- ð is like the th in this
So:
- þoka begins with a thing-type sound
- við has a this-type sound at the end, although pronunciation can vary depending on position and speech style
These two letters are extremely common in Icelandic, so it is good to get used to them early.
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