Breakdown of Ef lukkan er slæm fer keppandinn tómhentur heim.
vera
to be
heim
home
fara
to go
slæmur
bad
ef
if
keppandinn
the competitor
lukkan
the luck
tómhentur
empty-handed
Questions & Answers about Ef lukkan er slæm fer keppandinn tómhentur heim.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb fer?
Why is tómhentur in the nominative masculine form instead of being an adverb?
Even though English uses 'empty-handed' to describe how the action happens, Icelandic uses an adjective here to describe the state of the person. Since it describes keppandinn (a masculine noun in the nominative case), tómhentur must agree with it and take the masculine singular nominative ending -ur.
What type of noun is keppandinn, and why does it end in -andi?
The root word is keppandi (contestant), which is a weak masculine noun formed from the present participle of the verb keppa (to compete). Words ending in -andi often describe a person doing an action. Adding the masculine nominative definite article gives us keppandinn.
Why does the sentence use heim instead of heima for 'home'?
In Icelandic, adverbs of place often have different forms depending on whether there is motion involved. Heim implies direction or movement towards a place (going homewards), which perfectly matches the verb of motion fer. You would only use heima for a static location, such as if the contestant were already resting at home.
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