Við þynnum ungplönturnar.

we

Breakdown of Við þynnum ungplönturnar.

• ungplantan: the seedling
• þynna: to thin out

Questions & Answers about Við þynnum ungplönturnar.

What does each word in Við þynnum ungplönturnar do?

• Við = we
• þynnum = the verb, we thin / we thin out
• ungplönturnar = the young plants or the seedlings, functioning as the direct object

So the structure is:

subject + verb + object

That is a very normal Icelandic word order in a main clause.

Why does the verb appear as þynnum and not þynna?

Þynnum is a conjugated verb form, while þynna is the infinitive.

The infinitive is the dictionary form:

• að þynna = to thin, to thin out

In this sentence, the subject is við (we), so the verb must be in the 1st person plural present tense:

• ég þynni = I thin
• við þynnum = we thin

The ending -um is the normal present-tense ending here for we.

What exactly does að þynna mean here?

In this context, að þynna means to thin out plants, especially in gardening.

That is, you remove some young plants so the remaining ones have more space, light, and nutrients.

So this is not about making something abstractly thinner only; it is a very natural verb for gardening contexts.

Why is ungplönturnar one long word?