Við hittumst á eftir vinnu.

we

Breakdown of Við hittumst á eftir vinnu.

• vinnan: the work
• hittast: to meet
• á eftir: after

Questions & Answers about Við hittumst á eftir vinnu.

Why is the verb hittumst ending in -st?

The verb here is hittast, not plain hitta.

• hitta = to meet someone / find someone
• hittast = to meet each other, meet up, get together

The ending -st is a very common Icelandic marker often called the middle voice ending. In a sentence like this, it gives the verb a reciprocal sense: we meet each other / we meet up.

So:

• Við hittum Jón. = We meet/met Jón.
• Við hittumst. = We meet/met each other.

That is why hittumst is the natural form here.

Is hittumst present tense or past tense?

In this form, it can actually be understood from context.

In this sentence, the natural reading is present used for the future:

• Við hittumst á eftir vinnu. = We’ll meet after work / We’re meeting after work.

But the same form can also appear in past-time contexts:

• Við hittumst í gær. = We met yesterday.

So the time is often decided by the rest of the sentence, not by the verb form alone.

Why doesn’t Icelandic use a separate future tense here?