Breakdown of Háskólinn var mjög stór þegar amma kom.
vera
to be
stór
big
mjög
very
koma
to come
amman
the grandmother
þegar
when
háskólinn
the university
Questions & Answers about Háskólinn var mjög stór þegar amma kom.
Why do we use þegar for 'when' here instead of hvenær?
Þegar is a linking word (conjunction) used to connect two parts of a sentence, which is perfect for describing events in the past. You only use hvenær when you are asking a direct question, like 'When did grandma arrive?'.
Both verbs in this sentence are in the past tense. Is that required when using þegar?
Yes, when talking about a specific event that already happened, the verbs in both parts of the sentence usually match. Here, var (was) and kom (came) are both in the past tense to show these things were true at the same time.
Why is the word for university written as Háskólinn?
The base word for university is háskóli. In Icelandic, 'the' is usually attached to the end of the word rather than being a separate word before it. The -nn ending changes it from 'a university' to 'the university'.
Why is stór in this exact form?
Adjectives always have to match the noun they describe. Because háskólinn is a masculine, singular noun acting as the subject of the sentence, the adjective stór (big) also stays in its basic masculine, singular form.
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