Breakdown of Við notum snjóvélina ef snjókoman verður lítil.
lítill
small / a little (small amount)
við
we
nota
to use
verða
to become; will be
ef
if
snjókoman
the snowfall (f)
snjóvélin
the snow machine (f)
Questions & Answers about Við notum snjóvélina ef snjókoman verður lítil.
Why does the sentence use verður instead of er for the snowfall?
In Icelandic, when talking about future weather conditions or predicting a change in state, we use verða (to become/will be) rather than vera (to be). So ef snjókoman verður lítil directly expresses "if the snowfall turns out to be light" or "if it will be light."
Why is notum in the present tense if we are talking about a future condition?
Icelandic doesn't have a distinct future tense verb form like the English "will." Instead, it relies heavily on the present tense to express future actions. The context provided by ef (if) and the future implication of verður makes it clear that við notum means "we will use" in this scenario.
Why is the word for light/small lítil here instead of the dictionary form lítið?
Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. Snjókoma (snowfall) is a feminine noun. Since it is the subject of the second clause (nominative case), the adjective takes the feminine nominative singular form, which is lítil. Lítið is the neuter form.
How do the definite articles (the "the" part) work on snjóvélina and snjókoman?
In Icelandic, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun, and its shape depends on the noun's gender and grammatical case. Snjóvél is feminine and is the direct object (accusative case), so it takes the ending -ina. Snjókoma is also feminine, but it is the subject of the "if" clause (nominative case). Since it already ends in a vowel, it just takes -n to become snjókoman.
Learn Við notum snjóvélina ef snjókoman verður lítil 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