Breakdown of Fréttamaðurinn fór út, enda var myndin á forsíðunni.
vera
to be
myndin
the picture
fara
to go
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
út
out (motion outwards)
enda
seeing that
fréttamaðurinn
the reporter
forsíðan
the front page
Questions & Answers about Fréttamaðurinn fór út, enda var myndin á forsíðunni.
Why does the verb var come right after enda instead of the subject myndin?
Enda is a coordinating conjunction, but it has a special quirk: it acts as the first element in its clause. Because Icelandic is a verb-second (V2) language, the verb var must take the second slot immediately after enda, pushing the subject myndin into the third position.
Does enda always mean "seeing that" or "since"?
It usually provides a reason or an expected continuation, often translating to "seeing that", "since", or "and indeed". It connects two statements where the second naturally follows or justifies the first. Here, the picture being on the front page is the expected reason the reporter went out.
Why is it fór út and not fór úti?
You use út because there is active movement (going out). If the reporter was already outside and staying there, you would use the stationary form úti, for example, hann var úti (he was outside).
Why is forsíðunni in the dative case here?
The preposition á (on) takes the dative case when it describes a fixed location. Since the picture is just sitting on the front page with no movement towards it, the feminine noun forsíða becomes forsíðu in the dative, and adding the attached definite article makes it forsíðunni.
How is the word fréttamaðurinn built?
It is a compound word made of frétt (news) and maður (man/person), meaning "reporter" or "journalist". The -inn at the end is the masculine attached definite article, making it "the reporter".
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