Breakdown of Ljósmóðirin sjálf er búin að vera að undirbúa ómskoðunina fyrir okkur.
vera
to be
við
we
að
to (infinitive marker)
fyrir
for (on someone's behalf; as in "thanks for")
undirbúa
to prepare
búinn
finished
sjálfur
self, oneself
ljósmóðirin
the midwife
ómskoðunin
the ultrasound
Questions & Answers about Ljósmóðirin sjálf er búin að vera að undirbúa ómskoðunina fyrir okkur.
How does "er búin að vera að undirbúa" translate to "has been preparing"?
This is the present perfect continuous structure. It combines vera búinn að (to have done) and vera að (to be doing). The first part is conjugated to match the feminine subject as er búin að, followed by the continuous marker vera að, and finally the infinitive action verb undirbúa.
Why is it búin instead of búinn?
In the vera búinn að construction, the word búinn acts like an adjective and must agree with the subject in gender and number. Since ljósmóðirin (the midwife) is a feminine singular noun, it takes the feminine singular form búin.
What are the root words that make up ómskoðunina?
It is a compound of ómur (echo or sound) and skoðun (examination), plus the definite article suffix -ina. An "echo-examination" is the literal Icelandic term for an ultrasound.
Why does ómskoðunina end in -ina rather than -in?
The verb undirbúa (to prepare) takes a direct object in the accusative case. The suffix -ina is the accusative feminine singular definite article (the ultrasound), whereas -in would be the nominative.
Why is the pronoun sjálf used here?
The word sjálfur means "oneself" and is used here for emphasis, meaning "the midwife herself". It takes the feminine singular nominative form sjálf to agree with the subject ljósmóðirin.
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