Breakdown of Eftir að hafa skoðað íbúðina keyptum við hana.
við
we
kaupa
to buy
skoða
to look at
hafa
to have
íbúðin
the apartment
eftir
after / for (waiting for)
Questions & Answers about Eftir að hafa skoðað íbúðina keyptum við hana.
Why is there no subject in the first part of the sentence (Eftir að hafa skoðað)?
This is an infinitive phrase. In Icelandic, you can use að + the infinitive (hafa) after certain prepositions if the actor is the exact same as in the main clause. It translates directly to the English structure "After having looked," which also drops the explicit subject.
Could you say this using a standard conjugated verb instead of the infinitive hafa?
Yes, you can unpack the infinitive phrase into a full subordinate clause with its own subject: Eftir að við höfðum skoðað íbúðina, keyptum við hana (After we had looked at the apartment, we bought it). Both versions are perfectly natural, but the infinitive construction used in the original sentence is a bit more concise.
Why does the verb keyptum come before the subject við?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire introductory phrase Eftir að hafa skoðað íbúðina acts as the first block of information. The main verb keyptum must take the second slot, which pushes the subject við immediately after it.
Why does the sentence end with hana (her) when the English translation says "it"?
Pronouns in Icelandic must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace, even for inanimate objects. Because íbúð (apartment) is a feminine noun, you cannot use the neuter það (it). You must refer back to it with the feminine pronoun, which takes the accusative form hana because it is the direct object being bought.
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