Breakdown of Hún var vön að drekka kaffi um leið og hún vaknaði.
vera
to be
hún
she
kaffið
the coffee
að
to (infinitive marker)
drekka
to drink
vakna
to wake up
um leið og
as soon as
vanur
used to
Questions & Answers about Hún var vön að drekka kaffi um leið og hún vaknaði.
Why is the word for "used to" spelled vön here instead of vanur?
Vanur is actually an adjective in Icelandic, which means it has to agree in gender and number with the subject it describes. Since the subject is hún (feminine, singular), the adjective takes the feminine singular nominative form, vön.
Does að drekka translate to "drinking" or "to drink" here?
Literally, it translates to "to drink" (infinitive). In English, we say "used to drinking", using an -ing form after the preposition. In Icelandic, the adjective vanur is simply followed by að plus the infinitive verb.
How exactly does the phrase um leið og mean "as soon as"?
The phrase literally translates to "around the way and". In Icelandic, um leið og is a very common fixed expression used as a conjunction meaning "as soon as" or "at the exact same time as".
Why can't we just use the simple past and say "Hún drakk kaffi..."?
You absolutely can, but it changes the focus. Hún drakk kaffi just means "She drank coffee" (a statement of a past event). Using var vön að emphasizes the habitual aspect, showing that this was her routine or something she was accustomed to doing over a period of time.
Learn Hún var vön að drekka kaffi um leið og hún vaknaði 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