Húsvörðurinn sagði að dyrasíminn hefði verið bilaður lengi.

to be

Breakdown of Húsvörðurinn sagði að dyrasíminn hefði verið bilaður lengi.

• segja: to say
• hafa: to have
• að: that

Questions & Answers about Húsvörðurinn sagði að dyrasíminn hefði verið bilaður lengi.

What does Húsvörðurinn mean, and why does it end in -inn?

Húsvörðurinn means the caretaker, the janitor, or the building superintendent, depending on context.

The ending -inn is the suffixed definite article in Icelandic. So:

• húsvörður = caretaker / janitor
• húsvörðurinn = the caretaker / the janitor

Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

Is húsvörður a compound word?

Yes. It is made up of:

• hús = house / building
• vörður = guard / keeper

So húsvörður is literally something like house-keeper/guard, but in actual usage it means a building caretaker or superintendent.

What form is sagði?

Sagði is the past tense of segja (to say).

So:

• segja = to say
• segir = says
• sagði = said

It is a very common verb, and its past tense is not formed in a completely predictable way, so it is worth memorizing.

What is að doing in this sentence?