How Do You Write Conditionals In Icelandic?

Hello everybody,

This post answers two common questions: "How do I write conditional statements in Icelandic?" and "Do you use subjunctive or indicative with 'Ef'"?

What is a conditional statement?

A conditional statement is an if-then style statement in which the second part of the sentence, known as the conclusion/result, is only executed or occurs if the condition/hypothesis, the first part of the sentence, occurs or is true.

• If I eat a lot of pizza, I will be sick.

In the example above, If I eat a lot of pizza is the hypothesis. It is not guaranteed that the hypothesis will happen, as made clear by the word if, but given it does occur, then the conclusion, I will be sick, will also occur.

In Icelandic, the exact same type of statements are possible and common. The word that triggers the statement is ef.

• Ef ég borða mikið af pítsu verð ég veikur. - (If I eat a lot of pizza, I will be sick.)

Note: Icelandic doesn't tend to separate conditionals with commas.

Indicative or subjunctive?

The reason why there is some confusion surrounding whether ef needs an indicative or subjunctive verb is that you have likely seen examples of both.

1. Ef ég fer út verður mér kalt. - (If I go outside, I will be cold.)
2. Ef ég væri hundur myndi ég borða kött. - (If I f I were a dog, I would eat a cat.)

In the first example, the verb is in the present indicative mood, while in the second example, it is in the past subjunctive mood, but what's the difference?

The difference is that the first example uses conditional real (realis) while the second uses conditional unreal (irrealis).

Conditional real

Conditional real statements are used for conditions that could very easily be true. These statements use indicative verbs for both clauses.

1. Ef ég fer út verður mér kalt. - (If I go outside, I will be cold.)
2. Ef ég kem heim með kött drepur konan mig. - (If I come home with a cat, my wife will kill me.)
3. Ef veðrið er gott förum við að konan mig. - (If I come home with a cat, my wife will kill me.)

Both me going outside and me coming home with a cat could very easily be true, so Examples 1 and 2 are conditional real. Example 3 contains a situation that may or may not simply be true. As a result, it is also conditional real.

Conditional unreal

Conditional unreal statements are used for conditions that are purely hypothetical or very unlikely to occur. The verbs in conditional unreal statements need to be in the subjunctive past. Very commonly, the verb in the conclusion will use a myndi construction instead of the normal subjunctive past. This is particularly common when the subjunctive past of the verb would look the same as the indicative past.

1. Ef ég væri hundur myndi ég gelta. - (If I were a dog, I would bark.)
2. Ef ég væri milljónamæringur myndi ég kaupa allt. - (If I were a millionaire, I would buy everything.)
3. Ef ég segði þér sannleikinn þyrfti ég að drepa þig. - (If I told you the truth, I would have to kill you.)

I am not a dog nor a millionaire, so Examples 1 and 2 are hypothetical, so they are conditional unreal. Since me telling you the truth is also something that hasn't happened yet and may never happen, it is hypothetical and also an example of conditional unreal, too.

Subjunctive instead of if

Icelandic adds an extra level of complexity; Instead of using if, a simple subjunctive verb can be used.

With a conditional realis, the conclusion stays indicative.

1. Fari ég út verður mér kalt. - (If I go outside, I will be cold.)
2. Komi ég heim með kött drepur konan mig . - (If I came home with a cat, my wife would kill me.)
3. Sé veðrið gott förum við að veiða. - (If the weather is good, we will go fishing.)

With a conditional unreal, the conclusion stays in the subjunctive.

1. Væri ég hundur myndi ég gelta. - (If I were a dog, I would bark.)
2. Væri ég milljónamæringur myndi ég kaupa allt. - (If I were a millionaire, I would buy everything.)
3. Segði ég þér sannleikinn þyrfti ég að drepa þig. - (If I told you the truth, I would have to kill you.)

Then and þá?

Then and Þá are never necessary in conditional statements. They are optional discourse markers.

1. Ef ég væri sjóræningi þá myndi ég eiga skip. - (If I were a pirate, then I would own a ship.)
2. Sé hundurinn stærri þá keypti ég hann. - (If the dog were bigger, then I would buy him.)