Breakdown of Ég er að synda mjög hægt.
vera
to be
ég
I
mjög
very
að
to (infinitive marker)
hægt
slowly
synda
to swim
Questions & Answers about Ég er að synda mjög hægt.
How does er að synda work to mean "am swimming"?
This is the Icelandic present continuous tense, used for actions happening right now. It is built using the verb vera (to be) conjugated to match the subject (ég er), followed by að, and then the dictionary form (infinitive) of the action verb (synda).
Could I just say Ég synda mjög hægt?
Yes, but the meaning would change. Ég synda is the simple present tense ("I swim"). You would use it for habits or general facts, like "I swim very slowly when I'm tired." The phrase ég er að synda specifically means you are in the water swimming at this exact moment.
Why does hægt mean "slowly" here? Doesn't it mean "slow"?
In Icelandic, you often create an adverb (a word that describes an action, like "slowly") by using the neuter form of an adjective. The standard adjective for "slow" is hægur, and its neuter form is hægt. Because it is describing the verb synda here, hægt translates to "slowly".
Do words like mjög and hægt change their endings depending on who is swimming?
No, they don't! Mjög (very) and hægt (slowly) are acting as adverbs in this sentence. Unlike adjectives, which change endings to match the noun they describe, adverbs never change form. They stay exactly the same whether it's "I am swimming" or "we are swimming".
Learn Ég er að synda mjög hægt and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free