Ég hef verið að hugsa um þetta.

I have been thinking about this.

Breakdown of Ég hef verið að hugsa um þetta.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• þetta: this
• hafa: to have

Questions & Answers about Ég hef verið að hugsa um þetta.

What does each word in Ég hef verið að hugsa um þetta mean or do?

Here is the breakdown:

• Ég = I
• hef = have
  This is the 1st person singular present form of hafa.
• verið = been
  This is the past participle of vera.
• að hugsa = to think / thinking
  In this construction, it works like be doing in English.
• um = about
• þetta = this

So grammatically, the sentence is built something like:

I have been at thinking about this

But in natural English, it is understood as I have been thinking about this.

Why does Icelandic use hef verið að hugsa here?

This is a very common Icelandic way to express an ongoing action over a period of time, similar to the English have been thinking.

The pattern is:

hafa + verið + að + infinitive

So:

• ég hef verið að hugsa = I have been thinking
• við höfum verið að vinna = we have been working
• hann hefur verið að lesa = he has been reading

This construction is especially useful when the action has been continuing recently or over some stretch of time.

What is the function of að before hugsa?