Question 1

Why use the preposition á instead of í if the English translation says 'in two hours'?

Accepted Answer

When you want to say exactly how long it takes to completely finish an action, Icelandic uses á followed by the dative case. Even though English uses 'in', you can think of this Icelandic structure as meaning 'in the span of'.

Question 2

Why is the number two written as tveimur instead of just tveir?

Accepted Answer

In Icelandic, the numbers one through four change their endings to match the case and gender of the noun they describe. Because the preposition á for completion time requires the dative case, we have to use tveimur, which is the dative form of the number two.

Question 3

Could I just say á tveimur tímum instead of using the longer word klukkutímum?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you absolutely can! The word tími can mean 'hour', 'time', or 'class lesson'. Adding klukka (clock) to make klukkutími is just a very common way to be completely specific that you mean a standard 60-minute hour.

Question 4

How does the word myndasöguna break down?

Accepted Answer

It is a compound word made from mynd (picture) and saga (story), so it literally means 'picture-story' or comic book. The -na at the very end is the attached word for 'the' in the accusative case, because the comic book is the direct object receiving the action of the verb.

Question 5

I know the dictionary form of the verb is lesa (to read). Why does the past tense look so different here?

Accepted Answer

Lesa is a strong verb, which means it changes its core vowel to form the past tense instead of just adding a standard ending like -aði. Ég las is the correct first-person past tense form for 'I read'.

Ég las myndasöguna á tveimur klukkutímum.

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