Breakdown of Mér líður illa af því að flugvélin er um það bil að lenda.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
mér
me (dative)
að
to (infinitive marker)
um
about
flugvélin
the airplane (f)
af því að
because
líða
to feel
illa
badly
lenda
to land
bilið
the gap
Questions & Answers about Mér líður illa af því að flugvélin er um það bil að lenda.
What is the difference between er um það bil að lenda and fer að lenda?
While both refer to the future, vera um það bil að + infinitive emphasizes that the action is extremely imminent. Flugvélin fer að lenda means the plane is going to land soon, but er um það bil að lenda means it is just about to land right at this very moment.
What does the phrase um það bil literally mean?
On its own, um það bil means 'approximately' or 'roughly'. The noun bil means a 'gap', 'interval', or 'space'. So literally, the phrase translates to something like 'around that interval'. When combined with að and an infinitive verb, the full phrase vera um það bil að is used to express the immediate future, meaning 'to be just about to do something'.
Why is it mér líður instead of ég líð?
The verb líða (to feel) is an impersonal verb that requires its subject to be in the dative case. The feeling is grammatically treated as happening to you, so you must use the dative pronoun mér rather than the nominative ég.
Can mér líður illa mean that I am emotionally upset, rather than physically sick?
Yes! Mér líður illa translates to 'I feel bad', which can mean either physical sickness (like nausea) or mental distress (like feeling sad or anxious). In this sentence, the context of an airplane landing strongly points to physical motion sickness, or perhaps severe flight anxiety.
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