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Icelandic

To talk about events in the past and state exactly how long ago they occurred, Icelandic uses a "sandwich" structure. You wrap the amount of time between the preposition **fyrir** and the word **síðan**.

Because the time phrase is governed by the preposition **fyrir**, it must be in the **dative** case.

- **fyrir** + [dative time phrase] + **síðan**

Let's look at this structure in action with common time words like *vikur* (weeks) and *mínútur* (minutes), which become *vikum* and *mínútum* in the dative plural:

{{item:998243}}

{{item:998245}}

### Digging Deeper into the Past

Whether you are searching for a recently misplaced tool or unearthing ancient history, this pattern stays exactly the same. Notice how it works with both singular phrases like "a long time" (*langur tími* → *löngum tíma*) and plural expressions of years (*ár* → *árum*):

{{item:998248}}

{{item:998261}}

{{item:998262}}

This versatile structure is your key to placing any event, discovery, or excavation on a timeline!

Past time anchors (fyrir ... síðan)

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 archaeologist	fornleifafræðingurinn
The man is an archaeologist.	Maðurinn er fornleifafræðingur.
to dig	grafa
ago (fyrir + dative)	fyrir
ago (fyrir ... síðan)	síðan
We were digging three weeks ago.	Við vorum að grafa fyrir þremur vikum síðan.
the shovel	skóflan
Where was my shovel five minutes ago?	Hvar var skóflan mín fyrir fimm mínútum síðan?
the fossil	steingervingurinn
the sand	sandurinn
The fossil was in the sand a long time ago.	Steingervingurinn var í sandinum fyrir löngum tíma síðan.
to discover	uppgötva
the bone	beinið
The archaeologist has discovered a large bone.	Fornleifafræðingurinn er búinn að uppgötva stórt bein.
the soil	moldin
She is going to dig in the soil before it starts to rain.	Hún ætlar að grafa í moldinni áður en það byrjar að rigna.
the skeleton	beinagrindin
Which skeleton was here two days ago?	Hvaða beinagrind var hér fyrir tveimur dögum síðan?
He has found another fossil under the sand.	Hann er búinn að finna annan steingerving undir sandinum.
He was cleaning the shovel an hour ago.	Hann var að þrífa skófluna fyrir klukkutíma síðan.
She has also found the bone from the old skeleton!	Hún er líka búin að finna beinið úr gömlu beinagrindinni!
the excavation	uppgröfturinn
The excavation is very exciting and we are going to continue!	Uppgröfturinn er mjög spennandi og við ætlum að halda áfram!
This excavation was important five years ago.	Þessi uppgröftur var mikilvægur fyrir fimm árum síðan.
The archaeologist discovered the fossil in the soil ten years ago.	Fornleifafræðingurinn uppgötvaði steingervinginn í moldinni fyrir tíu árum síðan.
last year	í fyrra
I went to Spain last year.	Ég fór til Spánar í fyrra.
Last year we lived in Reykjavík.	Í fyrra bjuggum við í Reykjavík.
the day before yesterday	í fyrradag
I met her the day before yesterday.	Ég hitti hana í fyrradag.
The day before yesterday it rained a lot.	Í fyrradag rigndi mikið.
last time, most recently	síðast
When did you last see her?	Hvenær sástu hana síðast?
I ate fish last time.	Ég borðaði fisk síðast.

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