Word
Glæpamaðurinn var að flýja.
Meaning
The criminal was fleeing.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Glæpamaðurinn var að flýja.
vera
to be
að
to (infinitive marker)
glæpamaðurinn
the criminal
flýja
to flee
Questions & Answers about Glæpamaðurinn var að flýja.
How do we form the "was fleeing" part of this sentence?
This sentence uses the past continuous form. Just like in English ("was" plus an "-ing" verb), Icelandic uses the past tense of vera (to be) followed by að and the infinitive verb. Here, we have var (was) plus að plus flýja (to flee).
What parts make up the word Glæpamaðurinn?
It is a compound word combining glæpur (crime) and maður (man or person) to make glæpamaður (criminal). The -inn at the end is the attached definite article for masculine nouns, making it "the criminal".
Why is Glæpamaðurinn in the nominative case here?
It is the subject of the sentence, meaning it is the person doing the action. In Icelandic, the subject of the verb vera (to be) always takes the basic nominative case.
Does að flýja mean "to flee" or "fleeing"?
By itself, að flýja is the infinitive form, literally meaning "to flee". However, when it is combined with a form of vera in this specific continuous structure, the whole phrase var að flýja translates best to the English past continuous, so we say "was fleeing".