Breakdown of Kóngurinn var ungur er krýningin hófst.
vera
to be
ungur
young
kóngurinn
the king
hefjast
to begin
er
when (formal)
krýningin
the coronation
Questions & Answers about Kóngurinn var ungur er krýningin hófst.
Why is er used here instead of þegar to mean "when"?
Er is a formal, written-register equivalent of þegar. You will encounter it frequently in literature, historical texts, and news articles, but you would normally just use þegar in everyday speech.
Why does the verb hófst end with -st here?
This is the middle voice form of the verb hefja (to begin or raise). You use the active voice hefja when a subject is actively starting an object, but you use the middle voice hefjast when an event just begins on its own, which is why the coronation takes the -st form here.
What rule helps us know the gender of krýningin?
Nouns ending in the suffix -ing, like krýning (coronation), are almost always feminine. You can also see this reflected in the attached feminine definite article -in.
How would the word order change if we put the Er clause at the beginning of the sentence?
Because of the V2 (verb-second) rule, starting the sentence with the subordinate clause means the main clause must immediately follow with its verb. It would become: Er krýningin hófst, var kóngurinn ungur.
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