Breakdown of Við höfum labbað yfir fjallið.
við
we
fjallið
the mountain
labba
to walk (informal)
hafa
to have
Questions & Answers about Við höfum labbað yfir fjallið.
How do we form the supine (sagnbót) for a verb like labba?
Labba belongs to Group 1 of weak verbs, which end in -ar in the present tense (ég labba, þú labbar). To form the supine for these verbs, you simply take the stem (labb-) and add -að. This gives us labbað, which we use after the helping verb hafa to say "have walked".
Why does this sentence use "höfum labbað" instead of the simple past tense?
Just like in English, Icelandic uses the present perfect tense (a form of hafa + the supine) to focus on a past experience or an action whose result matters right now. Við höfum labbað means "We have walked" (highlighting the experience or accomplishment), whereas the simple past Við löbbuðum just states the historical fact "We walked".
Why is fjallið in the accusative case here?
The preposition yfir (over) can take either the accusative or the dative case. When it describes movement from one point to another across something, it takes the accusative case. Since fjall is a neuter word, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form, so adding the definite article gives us fjallið (the mountain).
Is labba the only verb used for "to walk"?