When discussing formal plans, regulations, or safety requirements—such as organizing a large outdoor festival—you often need to state the specific conditions under which something can happen.
Assuming That (Að því gefnu að)
The phrase að því gefnu að translates to "given that" or "assuming that." It acts as a formal conditional conjunction, introducing a requirement that must be met for the main action to take place.
Because this conjunction introduces a hypothetical or unconfirmed scenario, the verb in the clause that follows it must take the subjunctive mood (viðtengingarháttur).
Let's look at this structure in the present tense, using the present subjunctive verbs haldist (remains) and sé (is).
| The outdoor festival is only feasible, assuming that the weather remains good. | Útihátíðin er bara framkvæmanleg að því gefnu að veðrið haldist gott. |
| We can organize the outdoor festival, assuming that the funding is secured. | Við getum skipulagt útihátíðina að því gefnu að fjármagnið sé tryggt. |
If the main clause is in the past tense, the subjunctive verb following að því gefnu að shifts to the past subjunctive, such as væri (was/were).
| The authorities allowed the event, assuming that the security control was stricter than last year. | Yfirvöldin leyfðu viðburðinn að því gefnu að öryggisgæslan væri strangari en í fyrra. |
Neither... Nor... (Hvorki... né)
When evaluating plans and safety measures, you might need to point out that something fails to meet multiple requirements, translating to "neither [A] nor [B]."
In Icelandic, this is expressed with the paired conjunctions hvorki ... né.
| The emergency plan is neither clear nor feasible. | Neyðaráætlunin er hvorki skýr né framkvæmanleg. |
You can use hvorki ... né to link adjectives (as seen above) or to link nouns and larger phrases, such as ruling out different locations or events.
| The authorities wanted to see neither the outdoor festival nor the medical tent in the park. | Yfirvöldin vildu hvorki sjá útihátíðina né sjúkratjaldið í garðinum. |
