Ég á það til að hnerra tvisvar í röð þegar ég fæ fyrsta hnerrann.

It is an idiomatic expression meaning to tend to, to be prone to, or to have a habit of doing something.

So Ég á það til að hnerra... means something like:

• I tend to sneeze...
• I have a habit of sneezing...
• I’m liable to sneeze...

It usually describes something that happens from time to time, not necessarily all the time.

No, in this expression það does not really refer to a specific thing. It is just part of the fixed idiom eiga það til að + infinitive.

So it is best to learn á það til að as one unit rather than trying to translate each word separately.

Literally, it may look strange to an English speaker, but idiomatically it just means tends to or has the habit of.

Because after á það til að, Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive.

So:

• hnerra = to sneeze
• að hnerra = the infinitive phrase to sneeze

This is similar to English to sneeze after expressions like tend to.

Tvisvar í röð means twice in a row or two times consecutively.

Breakdown:

• tvisvar = twice
• í röð = in a row, consecutively

You can use í röð with other numbers too:

• þrisvar í röð = three times in a row
• fjórum sinnum í röð = four times in a row

They are different parts of speech:

• hnerra = the verb to sneeze
• hnerri = a noun meaning a sneeze
• hnerrann = the sneeze in a specific case form

So in the sentence:

• að hnerra tvisvar í röð = to sneeze twice in a row
• fyrsta hnerrann = the first sneeze

English often uses the same general idea with both a verb and a noun too:

• to sneeze
• a sneeze

Fæ is the 1st person singular present tense of fá, which usually means get.

So:

• ég fæ = I get

Here fá hnerrann means something like get the sneeze or have the sneeze come. In natural English, we would usually just say when I get the first sneeze or when the first sneeze comes.

This is a normal use of fá in Icelandic for receiving or experiencing something.

Because hnerrann is the definite accusative singular form: the sneeze as the direct object.

In this sentence, fá takes a direct object, and that object is fyrsta hnerrann.

A few things are happening:

• hnerri = a sneeze / the basic dictionary form
• hnerrann = the sneeze in the accusative singular
• the article the is attached to the end of the noun in Icelandic

So instead of a separate word for the, Icelandic often puts it onto the noun itself.

Because the adjective must match the noun in case, gender, number, and definiteness.

Here:

• hnerrann is masculine singular accusative and definite
• so the adjective takes the corresponding weak form: fyrsta

That is why you get:

• fyrsta hnerrann = the first sneeze

This is very common in Icelandic: once the noun is definite, the adjective often changes to a weak form.

Because Icelandic often uses the present tense for actions that happen regularly or whenever a situation occurs.

So þegar ég fæ fyrsta hnerrann means:

• when I get the first sneeze
• whenever I get the first sneeze

This is describing a habitual pattern, not one single event in the past.

So even if English might sometimes phrase similar ideas differently depending on context, the Icelandic present tense here is perfectly normal.

Yes. This is normal subordinate-clause word order.

After þegar (when), you get a dependent clause:

• þegar ég fæ fyrsta hnerrann

Here the order is:

• conjunction: þegar
• subject: ég
• verb: fæ
• object: fyrsta hnerrann

That is standard and natural.

A learner may notice that Icelandic main clauses often have verb-second behavior, but subordinate clauses like this one are usually more straightforward in their word order.

Not exactly. That translation gives the general idea, but it loses some of the nuance.

The Icelandic sentence means more specifically that the speaker tends to sneeze a second time after the first sneeze comes.

So the force of á það til að is softer than a firm rule like I always or even sometimes I usually. It suggests a tendency or recurring habit, not an absolute fact.

A closer English rendering would be something like:

• I tend to sneeze twice in a row when I get the first sneeze.
• When I sneeze once, I often sneeze a second time.