Breakdown of Við förum að pensla snúðana þegar glassúrinn er tilbúinn.
vera
to be
við
we
fara
to go
að
to (infinitive marker)
þegar
when
tilbúinn
ready
snúðurinn
the cinnamon roll
pensla
to brush
glassúrinn
the glaze
Questions & Answers about Við förum að pensla snúðana þegar glassúrinn er tilbúinn.
How does förum að pensla translate to "will start brushing"?
The structure fara að + infinitive focuses on the beginning of an action. It is the most natural way to say "start doing" or "about to do" something in Icelandic, and is very frequently used to express an immediate future intent.
Our current lesson covers the completion aspect verða búinn að. Why isn't the glaze described as búinn að here?
The phrase búinn að is used when an active agent has finished doing an action (for example, ég verð búinn að pensla, meaning "I will be finished brushing"). When a noun is simply "ready" or "prepared" for use, you must use the adjective tilbúinn. Since the glaze isn't performing an action, it is just tilbúinn.
Since this takes place in the future, why is the verb er in the present tense after þegar?
Just like in English, Icelandic uses the present tense in time-clauses introduced by þegar (when), even when referring to the future. You say þegar glassúrinn er tilbúinn (when the glaze is ready), rather than shifting to a future construction.
What is the base word for snúðana, and why does it have that ending?
The base noun is snúður (masculine), a popular Icelandic pastry similar to a cinnamon roll. Here, it is in the accusative plural form snúða because it is the direct object of the verb pensla, and it takes the definite article suffix -na to mean "the rolls."
Does the verb pensla relate to using a pencil?
No, it comes from the noun pensill, which means a paintbrush or a pastry brush. In the context of baking, að pensla means to apply something with a brush, like brushing on a glaze or an egg wash. The Icelandic word for a writing pencil is blýantur.
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