When you want to express how long an action takes, Icelandic uses the verb vera (to be) paired with a word for pace, followed by að and an infinitive verb.
We will look at two very common ways to express this: taking a long time (lengi) and being quick (fljótur).
Lengi að (Taking a long time)
The word lengi is an adverb, meaning it is uninflected. It never changes its form, regardless of who is performing the action.
| The art of writing well takes time, and one takes a long time to learn the calligraphy. | Listin að skrifa vel tekur tíma og maður er lengi að læra skrautskriftina. |
| She takes a very long time to draw each letter when she practices the calligraphy. | Hún er mjög lengi að teikna hvern bókstaf þegar hún æfir skrautskriftina. |
Fljótur að (Being quick)
In contrast, fljótur (quick) is an adjective. This means it must agree with the subject in gender and number.
For a masculine singular subject, use fljótur:
| If you are too quick to make the stroke, it will not be straight. | Ef þú ert of fljótur að gera strikið, verður það ekki beint. |
For a feminine singular subject, the adjective drops the ending and becomes fljót:
| The girl was too quick to write, so she could not perfect the craftsmanship. | Stelpan var of fljót að skrifa, þannig að hún gat ekki fullkomnað handbragðið. |
And for a masculine plural subject, it becomes fljótir:
| The boys were too quick to dip the brush into the ink. | Strákarnir voru of fljótir að dýfa penslinum í blekið. |
Working carefully
Since we are using the art of calligraphy to practice these expressions, you will often need the reflexive verb að vanda sig ("to work carefully" or "to do one's best").
| to work carefully / to do one's best | vanda sig |
Notice how the uninflected lengi að pairs naturally with að vanda sig when describing deliberate, careful strokes:
| The students take a long time to draw each stroke because they work carefully. | Nemendurnir eru lengi að draga hvert strik af því að þeir vanda sig. |
| I take a long time to paint this curve because I want to work carefully. | Ég er lengi að mála þessa sveigju af því að ég vil vanda mig. |