Ef við hefðum tekið betra kort, hefðum við ekki villst á stígnum.

If we had taken a better map, we would not have gotten lost on the path.

Breakdown of Ef við hefðum tekið betra kort, hefðum við ekki villst á stígnum.

• ekki: not
• við: we
• á: on
• taka: to take

Questions & Answers about Ef við hefðum tekið betra kort, hefðum við ekki villst á stígnum.

What tense and mood are hefðum tekið and hefðum villst?

They are past perfect subjunctive forms.

This sentence describes an unreal past situation: something that did not happen, and its imagined result.

• hefðum tekið = would have taken / had taken
• hefðum villst = would have gotten lost / had gotten lost

In Icelandic, counterfactual if-sentences like this commonly use the subjunctive in both parts.

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Why is hefðum used twice?

Because each clause has its own verb phrase.

The sentence has two clauses:

1. Ef við hefðum tekið betra kort
   = if we had taken a better map

2. hefðum við ekki villst á stígnum
   = we would not have gotten lost on the path

Each clause needs its own auxiliary verb, so hefðum appears in both.

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Why does the second clause say hefðum við instead of við hefðum?