Life at a remote lighthouse is defined by constant change. To describe states or actions that alternate over time, Icelandic uses a specific correlative conjunction.
| sometimes / alternately (by turns) | ýmist |
Alternating States: ýmist ... eða
Pairing eða (or) with ýmist creates the correlative conjunction ýmist ... eða, meaning "sometimes [this] and sometimes [that]" or "alternately [this] and [that]".
This frame links two parallel grammatical elements: what follows ýmist should structurally match what follows eða.
Linking Adjectives and Adverbs
Use this conjunction to describe alternating qualities, placing adjectives or adverbs immediately after the markers.
| The visibility here is variable, sometimes good and sometimes bad. | Skyggnið hér er breytilegt, ýmist gott eða slæmt. |
| In the darkness the lighthouse flashes sometimes red and sometimes white. | Í myrkrinu blikkar vitinn ýmist rautt eða hvítt. |
| The light is somewhat brighter now and flashes sometimes fast and sometimes slowly. | Ljósið er nokkru bjartara núna og blikkar ýmist hratt eða hægt. |
Linking Actions and Nouns
The structure is highly flexible. You can also use ýmist ... eða to link entire verb phrases (for alternating actions) or nouns (for alternating things you see or experience).
| One must sometimes sail and sometimes wait when the sea is this rough. | Maður þarf ýmist að sigla eða bíða þegar sjórinn er svona úfinn. |
| The lighthouse keeper sometimes worries about the weather and is sometimes completely calm. | Vitavörðurinn hefur ýmist áhyggjur af veðrinu eða er alveg rólegur. |
| The weather is constantly changing, and the lighthouse keeper sometimes sees the sun and sometimes the fog. | Veðrið er sífellt breytilegt og vitavörðurinn sér ýmist sólina eða þokuna. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io