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Icelandic

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.

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### 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*:

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For a feminine singular subject, the adjective drops the ending and becomes *fljót*:

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And for a masculine plural subject, it becomes *fljótir*:

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### 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").

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Notice how the uninflected *lengi að* pairs naturally with *að vanda sig* when describing deliberate, careful strokes:

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Pace and duration (fljótur / lengi að)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
the art	listin
the calligraphy	skrautskriftin
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.
the letter (of the alphabet)	bókstafurinn
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.
to dip	dýfa
the ink	blekið
Let's dip the pen into the ink.	Við skulum dýfa pennanum í blekið.
The boys were too quick to dip the brush into the ink.	Strákarnir voru of fljótir að dýfa penslinum í blekið.
the stroke	strikið
to work carefully / to do one's best	vanda sig
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.
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.
the curve (bend)	sveigjan
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.
to perfect	fullkomna
Let's take a long time to perfect the curve in the letter.	Við skulum vera lengi að fullkomna sveigjuna í bókstafnum.
the craftsmanship	handbragðið
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.
In short, the art is to build up good craftsmanship.	Í stuttu máli er listin að byggja upp gott handbragð.