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Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar, en eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn.

Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar, en eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn.
I read the draft of the report twice, but one key point was still missing.
FromLesson 55inHardcore Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar, en eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn.

Why is it drögin and not just drög?

Drögin is the definite form, meaning the draft / the draft documents.

A useful thing to know is that drög is very often treated as a plural-only noun in Icelandic, even when English would naturally say the draft in the singular.

So:

  • drög = draft, drafts
  • drögin = the draft, the draft documents

In this sentence, Ég las drögin... means I read the draft...

Why does Icelandic use drög in the plural when English would usually say draft?

This is just one of those vocabulary habits that do not match English exactly.

In Icelandic, drög often refers to a draft as a set of written materials or draft text, so the plural form is very natural. English usually compresses that idea into singular draft.

So even though the meaning is singular in English, Icelandic commonly says:

  • drög að samningi = a draft of an agreement
  • drög að skýrslu = a draft of a report

This is something best learned as a fixed usage.

Why is it að skýrslunni? What is að doing here?

Here að is part of the expression drög að einhverju, which means a draft of something.

So:

  • drög að skýrslu = a draft of a report
  • drög að skýrslunni = the draft of the report

This að is not the infinitive marker to. It is a preposition used in this specific pattern.

A very good way to learn it is as a chunk:

  • drög að + dative
Why is it skýrslunni and not skýrsluna or skýrslan?

Because the preposition að here takes the dative case.

The noun is skýrsla = report. Its definite singular forms are:

  • nominative: skýrslan
  • accusative: skýrsluna
  • dative: skýrslunni
  • genitive: skýrslunnar

Since the pattern is drög að + dative, we get:

  • að skýrslunni = of the report / for the report in this draft-related sense

So the case is controlled by the preposition.

What form is las?

Las is the past tense of lesa (to read).

So:

  • ég les = I read / I am reading
  • ég las = I read (past)

In this sentence:

  • Ég las drögin... = I read the draft...

It is a very common strong verb, so its forms need to be memorized rather than built mechanically.

Why is tvisvar placed where it is?

Tvisvar means twice.

In Icelandic, adverbs like this are fairly flexible in position, but the placement here is very natural:

  • Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar...

This puts tvisvar after the object phrase, which sounds smooth and neutral.

You could think of the structure as:

  • Ég = subject
  • las = verb
  • drögin að skýrslunni = object
  • tvisvar = adverb of frequency/number of times

So the sentence flows as: I read the draft of the report twice...

What exactly does en mean here?

En means but.

It connects two clauses in contrast:

  • Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar = I read the draft of the report twice
  • en eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn = but one key point was still missing

So en introduces the contrast between effort and result: the draft was read twice, but a problem remained.

Why is it eitt lykilatriði?

Because atriði is a neuter noun, and the word for one must agree with it.

So:

  • einn = masculine
  • ein = feminine
  • eitt = neuter

Since lykilatriði is neuter, Icelandic uses:

  • eitt lykilatriði = one key point

Also, lykilatriði is a compound:

  • lykill = key
  • atriði = point, item, detail

Together, lykilatriði means key point or main point.

Is lykilatriði one word because Icelandic likes compounds?

Yes. Icelandic very often forms meanings like key point, school system, weather forecast, and so on as single compound words.

So:

  • lykill
    • atriði → lykilatriði

This is extremely normal in Icelandic. English often uses separate words where Icelandic prefers compounds.

It is a good habit to look for the parts inside a long Icelandic word, because they are often quite transparent once you know the components.

Why does the sentence say vantaði instead of something more like was missing?

The verb vanta means to be lacking, to be missing, or to need, depending on context.

In this sentence:

  • eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn

literally, this is something like:

  • one key point was still lacking

Very natural English is:

  • one key point was still missing

So Icelandic uses the verb vanta where English often prefers be missing.

Why is there no word for it or the report in the second clause? Missing from what?

Icelandic does not need to repeat that information here. The context already tells us that the missing key point is missing from the draft/report being discussed.

So:

  • eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn

does not explicitly say from it or from the report, but that idea is understood from the previous clause.

This is very normal. English often does the same:

  • I read the draft twice, but one key point was still missing.

We understand missing from the draft without saying it.

Could vantaði have taken a person, like mig vantaði?

Yes. Vanta is often used with an experiencer in the accusative.

For example:

  • Mig vantar penna. = I need a pen.
  • literally: Me lacks a pen

But in your sentence, no experiencer is expressed. The focus is simply on what was absent:

  • eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn = one key point was still missing

So this is a slightly different use of the same verb.

What does enn mean here, and how is it different from aftur or þá?

Here enn means still.

So:

  • vantaði enn = was still missing

This shows that the situation continued up to that point.

Compare:

  • enn = still, yet
  • aftur = again, back
  • þá = then

So you cannot replace enn with aftur here.
Eitt lykilatriði vantaði aftur would mean something more like one key point was missing again, which is a different idea.

Is the word order in the second clause special: eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn?

It is normal Icelandic word order.

The basic pattern is:

  • eitt lykilatriði = subject
  • vantaði = verb
  • enn = adverb

So this is simply:

  • One key point was still missing

There is no hidden subject like það here. The subject is eitt lykilatriði.

Why is there a comma before en?

Because en is joining two independent clauses:

  • Ég las drögin að skýrslunni tvisvar
  • eitt lykilatriði vantaði enn

In standard writing, Icelandic commonly places a comma before en in this kind of sentence, much like English often does before but.

So the punctuation reflects the clause boundary and the contrast between the two ideas.

Could I also say tvisvar sinnum instead of tvisvar?

Yes, but tvisvar on its own is the most natural and economical choice here.

Compare:

  • tvisvar = twice
  • tvisvar sinnum = literally two times

Both are understandable, but tvisvar is the more idiomatic choice in a sentence like this:

  • Ég las drögin... tvisvar.

So the original version sounds cleaner and more native-like.

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