Apótekið er við hliðina á bankanum.

to be

Breakdown of Apótekið er við hliðina á bankanum.

• apótekið: the pharmacy
• bankinn: the bank
• við hliðina á: next to

Questions & Answers about Apótekið er við hliðina á bankanum.

Why does apótekið mean the pharmacy? Where is the word the?

In Icelandic, the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• apótek = pharmacy
• apótekið = the pharmacy

The same thing is happening later in the sentence with bankanum, which means the bank in a case form.

What does er mean?

Er means is. It is the present tense of the verb að vera (to be).

So:

• Apótekið er ... = The pharmacy is ...

What does við hliðina á mean?

Við hliðina á is a very common fixed expression meaning next to or beside.

Literally, it is something like by the side of, but in normal English you would usually translate it as:

• next to
• beside

It is best to learn við hliðina á as one whole chunk.

Why are there two little words, við and á, in the same expression?