Breakdown of Eftir fjögurra klukkutíma bið er tveggja tíma svefn örugglega góður.
vera
to be
góður
good
tveir
two
fjórir
four
tíminn
the time / the class (m) / the hour
klukkutíminn
the hour
eftir
after / for (waiting for)
örugglega
definitely
biðin
the wait
svefninn
the sleep
Questions & Answers about Eftir fjögurra klukkutíma bið er tveggja tíma svefn örugglega góður.
Why do we use the genitive forms fjögurra and tveggja in this sentence?
In Icelandic, expressions of measurement or duration often use the genitive case. These phrases literally translate to "a wait of four hours" and "a sleep of two hours". The numbers fjögurra (four) and tveggja (two) are in the genitive to link the amount of time to the nouns bið and svefn.
Are the words klukkutíma and tíma also in the genitive plural?
Yes! They are the genitive plural forms of the masculine nouns klukkutími and tími. Because the numbers fjögurra and tveggja are in the genitive to show measurement, the nouns being counted must also be in the genitive plural to match.
Why does the sentence use klukkutíma first and then just tíma?
This is simply a stylistic choice to avoid repeating the exact same word. The word klukkutími specifically means a 60-minute "clock hour," while tími is a broader word for "time" that is also very commonly used to mean "hour." In this context, they mean the exact same thing.
If the preposition eftir takes the dative case here, why are fjögurra and klukkutíma in the genitive instead of the dative?
The preposition eftir only controls the case of the main noun it governs, which is bið (wait). The phrase fjögurra klukkutíma (of four hours) is a separate descriptive chunk attached to bið. Its internal genitive case is locked in place to show measurement, completely independent of the dative case that eftir forces onto bið.
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