Breakdown of Þruman og eldingin fara að koma.
og
and
koma
to come
fara
to go
að
to (infinitive marker)
þruman
the thunder
eldingin
the lightning
Questions & Answers about Þruman og eldingin fara að koma.
How does fara að work in this sentence?
The construction fara að followed by an infinitive verb usually means "to start doing something" or "to be about to do something". In this sentence, fara að koma translates to "are about to come". It describes an event that is just on the verge of happening.
Literally, fara að koma translates to "go to come". Does that sound as contradictory in Icelandic as it does in English?
Not at all! Because fara að is a fixed grammar pattern used to show that an action is imminent, native speakers don't process fara here as the physical action of "going". It simply acts as a helper verb to set up the main action, which is koma (to come).
Both þruman and eldingin are feminine singular nouns. Why do their definite article endings look different?
It depends on the last letter of the base word. The word þruma (thunder) ends in a vowel, so it just tacks on an -n to become þruman. The word elding (lightning) ends in a consonant, so it needs the full -in ending to become eldingin.
Why is the verb fara in the plural form when the words for thunder and lightning are both singular?
Just like in English, when you connect two singular subjects with og (and), they combine to form a plural subject. Because we are talking about two distinct things, the verb must take the plural form fara instead of the singular fer.
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