Breakdown of Innikötturinn fer að mjálma um leið og hann verður svangur.
hann
he
svangur
hungry
fara
to go
að
to (infinitive marker)
verða
to become; will be
um leið og
as soon as
innikötturinn
the indoor cat
mjálma
to meow
Questions & Answers about Innikötturinn fer að mjálma um leið og hann verður svangur.
Why is fer að translated as "starts to" instead of "goes to"?
In Icelandic, the verb fara (to go) followed by að plus an infinitive (here, mjálma) is a very common construction meaning "to start" or "to begin" doing something. It focuses on the onset of the action.
How does the phrase um leið og work in this sentence?
While its literal word-for-word breakdown is "around the way and," um leið og is a fixed conjunction phrase that means "as soon as" or "at the same time as." It is used to show that the hunger triggers the meowing instantly.
Why use verður rather than er (is)?
Verður comes from the verb verða, which means "to become" or "to get." Using er would mean the cat is already in a steady state of being hungry, whereas verður svangur emphasizes the change in state (getting hungry) that causes the cat's reaction.
How does the definite article attach to the compound word innikötturinn?
It is a compound noun made from inni (indoors/inside) and köttur (cat). In Icelandic compound nouns, the definite article is always attached to the very end of the entire word. Here, we add the masculine nominative suffix -inn to get "the indoor cat."
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