Close Calls with "vera nærri því"
To say that something almost happened—especially a narrow escape or an accident—Icelandic uses the phrase vera nærri því (literally "to be near to that") followed by a past participle.
Because the past participle acts like an adjective here, it takes the nominative case and agrees with the subject in gender and number.
| The man almost drowned in the river. | Maðurinn var nærri því drukknaður í ánni. |
| The woman was almost crushed in the accident. | Konan var nærri því kramin í slysinu. |
| The child almost drowned, but they used the life jacket. | Barnið var nærri því drukknað en það notaði björgunarvestið. |
If the subject is plural, the past participle takes a plural ending:
| They almost starved to death in the forest. | Þau voru nærri því soltin til dauða í skóginum. |
Escaping Unharmed
When recounting a close call, adjectives like skaðlaus (unharmed) and óhultur (safe, out of danger) are used to describe escaping danger.
| Although the girl was afraid, she was safe. | Þótt stúlkan væri hrædd var hún óhult. |
| Each and every one found their life jacket and escaped unharmed. | Hver og einn fann björgunarvestið sitt og slapp skaðlaus. |
| The rescue team saved the boy and now he is safe. | Björgunarsveitin bjargaði stráknum og nú er hann óhultur. |
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