Breakdown of Fyrirspurnin er varðandi samninginn.
vera
to be
samningurinn
the contract
fyrirspurnin
the inquiry
varðandi
regarding
Questions & Answers about Fyrirspurnin er varðandi samninginn.
How would I turn this sentence into reported speech, like 'She said that the inquiry was regarding the contract'?
You would say: Hún sagði að fyrirspurnin væri varðandi samninginn. Because the main verb sagði (said) is in the past tense, the present tense er (is) backshifts to the past tense in the að (that) clause. In Icelandic reported speech, we also usually switch to the subjunctive mood, so the indicative er becomes the past subjunctive væri.
Why is the word for contract in the accusative case (samninginn) here?
The word varðandi (regarding) dictates the case of the noun that follows it. It always takes the accusative case. Since samningur (contract) is a masculine noun, it drops the -ur to become samning, and the attached definite article 'the' becomes -inn.
What kind of word is varðandi? It looks like a verb.
You are right to spot the verb connection! The -andi ending is the Icelandic equivalent of the English '-ing' ending. Varðandi is the present participle of the verb varða (to concern). In everyday usage, it functions just like a preposition, meaning 'concerning' or 'regarding'.
I know the verb spyrja means 'to ask'. Is fyrirspurnin related to it?
Yes! Fyrirspurn is a feminine noun meaning 'inquiry' or 'query'. It is built from fyrir (for/before) and spurn (a question, derived from the same root as spyrja). The -in at the end is the attached feminine word for 'the'.
Learn Fyrirspurnin er varðandi samninginn and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free