Breakdown of Varst þú að fela þjófinn?
vera
to be
þú
you
að
to (infinitive marker)
fela
to hide
þjófurinn
the thief
Questions & Answers about Varst þú að fela þjófinn?
How does this sentence show the past continuous tense?
It uses the past tense of vera (to be), which is Varst for 'you', followed by að and the infinitive verb fela (to hide). Together, Varst þú að fela translates directly to 'Were you hiding', showing an ongoing action in the past.
Why does þú come after Varst?
To turn a statement into a yes/no question in Icelandic, you put the verb first. The statement Þú varst að fela (You were hiding) flips to Varst þú að fela? (Were you hiding?).
Why is the word for 'the thief' written as þjófinn instead of the dictionary form þjófur?
Þjófur is a masculine noun. In this sentence, the thief is the direct object receiving the action of being hidden, so it must change to the accusative case, becoming þjóf. Then, the definite article 'the' is attached to the end, making it þjófinn (the thief).
What happens if I leave out the word að?
The sentence would be grammatically incorrect. To say you are (or were) currently doing an action, Icelandic strictly requires að to link the helping verb vera to the main infinitive verb.
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