Breakdown of Hann er allþreyttur og byrjar að geispa.
vera
to be
og
and
hann
he
þreyttur
tired
að
to (infinitive marker)
byrja
to start
geispa
to yawn
Questions & Answers about Hann er allþreyttur og byrjar að geispa.
Does the prefix all- in allþreyttur mean "completely" tired?
No, despite looking exactly like the English word "all", the Icelandic prefix all- actually means "quite", "rather", or "fairly". Therefore, allþreyttur means "quite tired". If you wanted to say he was completely exhausted, you would use an intensifier like alveg (alveg þreyttur) or a stronger word like uppgefinn.
Why isn't the pronoun hann repeated before byrjar?
Just like in English, when two verbs share the exact same subject and are connected by the conjunction og (and), you can omit the pronoun for the second verb. It sounds much more natural to say Hann er... og byrjar... rather than repeating hann.
Why do we need the word að between byrjar and geispa?
The verb byrja (to start/begin) requires the infinitive marker að when it is directly followed by another verb. It translates literally to "starts to yawn". As a B2 reminder: while auxiliary modal verbs (like vilja, geta, skulu) take a bare infinitive without að, most regular verbs like byrja, reyna, or halda áfram require it.
Is geispa (to yawn) related to the English word "gasp"?
Yes, they share an ancient Germanic root, but their modern meanings are different! In Icelandic, að geispa specifically means "to yawn". If you want to say someone is gasping for air, you would use a phrase like að grípa andann á lofti.
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