Breakdown of Svitnið þið þegar ykkur er alltof heitt?
vera
to be
þið
you (plural)
ykkur
you all
heitur
hot
þegar
when
alltof
way too
svitna
to sweat
Questions & Answers about Svitnið þið þegar ykkur er alltof heitt?
Why does the sentence say ykkur er instead of "þið eruð"?
This is the impersonal way Icelanders talk about feeling temperatures. Instead of saying "you are hot", the Icelandic phrasing is more like "to you is hot". The person feeling the heat goes into the dative case, so the plural þið becomes ykkur. The verb vera (to be) is always stuck in the "it" form, which is er.
Since þið is plural, why is the adjective heitt in the singular neuter form?
In impersonal sentences, the adjective doesn't actually describe the person feeling the temperature; it describes the general situation. Because there is no normal subject, the adjective always defaults to the neuter singular form. So even though a plural group is feeling the heat, you still use heitt.
Why is the first pronoun þið but the second one is ykkur? They both mean plural "you"!
It depends on how the specific verb works. The first verb, svitna (to sweat), is a regular action verb, so its subject takes the normal nominative case, which is þið. The second part of the sentence is about experiencing a temperature, which forces the pronoun into the dative case, making it ykkur.
What does the allt- part of alltof add to the meaning?
The word of by itself means "too" (as in "too hot"). Adding allt- (related to the word for "all" or "entirely") makes it much stronger. So alltof translates to "way too" or "far too".
Learn Svitnið þið þegar ykkur er alltof heitt 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