Breakdown of Farþeginn veit ekki hvort miðasalan er opin.
vera
to be
opinn
open
ekki
not
vita
to know (a fact, information)
hvort
whether
farþeginn
the passenger
miðasalan
the ticket office
Questions & Answers about Farþeginn veit ekki hvort miðasalan er opin.
Why do we use er opin here instead of a form of the verb hafa?
The phrase er opin describes the current state of the ticket office. Just like with verbs of motion in this lesson, using vera (to be) plus an inflected participle or adjective focuses on the resulting state. If we used a form of hafa, such as hefur opnað, it would mean it has opened, focusing on the action itself rather than the current status of the doors being open.
Why does opin end in just one n here?
The word for open must agree with the noun it describes. Because miðasalan (the ticket office) is a feminine noun in the nominative case, we use the feminine singular form opin. The masculine dictionary form is opinn with a double n.
Could I use ef instead of hvort here since it translates to "if" in English?
No, because hvort specifically means "whether" and implies a choice between alternatives (whether it is open or closed). You use ef for conditional statements, like saying "If the ticket office is open, I will buy a ticket."
I don't recognize the infinitive of veit. What is it and why doesn't it have an -r ending?
The infinitive is vita (to know a fact). It belongs to a special group of verbs that conjugate irregularly in the present tense, looking more like past-tense verbs. That is why veit (he/she/it knows) does not take the typical -r ending you would expect for the third person.
Learn Farþeginn veit ekki hvort miðasalan er opin 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