# Icelandic: to have a good time



## Alxmrphi

Hæ allur,

Ég er að æfa mig að læra hvernig að scrifa 'to have a good time' á ensku..

Can someone tell me if these are right, or if there are any problems?

*Did they have a nice time?*
Höfðu þeir það gott?

*Didn't he have a good time?*
Hafðir hann það ekki gott?

*I had a very good time!*
Hafði ég það mjög gott!

*You (pl) didn't have a very good time.*
Höfðuð þið það ekki mjög gott.

*When I went to Reykjavík again I had a good time, like my brother.*
Hvenær (þegar) fór ég aftur til Reykjavíkur hafði ég það gott, eins og bróðirinn minn.

*My mum and dad went to London, they didn't have a good time, the weather is not good in spring.*
Mamma mín og pabbi minn fóru í Lundúnir, höfðu þau það ekki gott, veðurið er ekki góður í vor.

If anyone can tell me:

1) Do I have the hang of using this contrusction?

2) Are there any mistakes that I need to change (regarding the construction)

3) I tried to apply it to long er sentences, though I think there are some mistakes in the last two sentences, can anyone help me identify them?
_a) I think maybe 'veðurið', should be 'veðrið', I don't think adding the 'i' for the definite article seems right with that 'u' in the stem, I've read rules about taking out the 'u' when an 'i' is added, like in *niður/niðri* etc, so I am not sure._

_b) I'm unsure about 'góður' to describe 'veður', I know it's neuter, but it's separared by 'er' so it's predicate, therefore needs to be a strong declension in normal masculine, not like 'góðu veð(u)rið', right?_

_c) not sure what word to use for 'when', I think 'hvenær' is right, as it's at the start of a sentence, I think þegar is used more in the middle of sentences, sort of like a relative pronoun, right?_

_d) the last doubt I have is, because of 'eins og....', I know it might throw the case to something that is not the nominative, in which case it might be 'bróð*u*rinn minn', is it accusative because of 'eins og...' ?_
​Any help would be great!

Takk kærlega!


----------



## butra

What is the exact meaning of the phrase to have a good time?
Is it to enjoy oneself greatly, having fun, laughing and taking part in some activity?
Or just being happy and content even if you are alone somewhere relaxing doing whatever you want to do which could be doing nothing at all?


----------



## Alxmrphi

I'd say it's to look back after doing something and smile and be happy you went, something productive came from it, what does the Icelandic phrase mean _to you_, is it a bit different?


----------



## butra

My understanding of að hafa það gott is basicly being content. But I believe it can cover the other cases I mentioned but does not call for any activity or productivity.
My feeling is that having a good time is closer to having fun ( að skemmta sér ) than the Icelandic phrase að hafa það gott.
Having said that I would say you´ve got the hang of using this construction but there are some details we have to correct.


----------



## Alxmrphi

Thanks butra, my "Learn Icelandic" book translates it as 'to have a good time', the author is Icelandic and has soent a few years teaching it at university so I do trust what she says, but it's good to know a different view of it as well!

In English the meaning is very varied, from having fun to being content, like going for a calm walk in a park with your dogs etc, it can be really nice, and you can be happy (content) and it is fine to say '*Where've you been?*' '*I just walked the dogs for a few hours'*, _*'did you have a good time?'*_, *'yeah it was really relaxing'*.

So here it's not really about having fun, but being happy / content like you mentioned, so I think it might be a good translation.

Gleðileg jól!


----------



## butra

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> *Did they have a nice time?*
> Höfðu þeir það gott?
> 
> *Didn't he have a good time?*
> Hafðir hann það ekki gott?
> 
> *I had a very good time!*
> Hafði ég það mjög gott!
> 
> *You (pl) didn't have a very good time.*
> Höfðuð þið það ekki mjög gott.
> 
> *When I went to Reykjavík again I had a good time, like my brother.*
> Hvenær (þegar) fór ég aftur til Reykjavíkur hafði ég það gott, eins og bróðirinn minn.
> 
> *My mum and dad went to London, they didn't have a good time, the weather is not good in spring.*
> Mamma mín og pabbi minn fóru í Lundúnir, höfðu þau það ekki gott, veðurið er ekki góður í vor.


 
Höfðu þeir það gott? Correct.

Hafðir hann það ekki gott? Hafði hann það ekki gott?

Hafði ég það mjög gott! Ég hafði það mjög gott! Far more common. Correct as a question: Hafði ég það mjög gott? but strange to ask!

Höfðuð þið það ekki mjög gott. Þið höfðuð það ekki mjög gott. Far more common. Correct as a question: Höfðuð þið það ekki mjög gott?

Hvenær (þegar) fór ég aftur til Reykjavíkur hafði ég það gott, eins og bróðirinn minn. Þegar ég fór aftur til Reykjavíkur hafði ég það gott, eins og bróðir minn.

Mamma mín og pabbi minn fóru í Lundúnir, höfðu þau það ekki gott, veðurið er ekki góður í vor. 

Mamma mín og pabbi minn fóru til Lundúna, þau höfðu það ekki gott, veðrið er ekki gott á vorin.


----------



## Alxmrphi

Thanks so much butra!

I realised my error, I copied an example from the book in the question form (where the pronoun goes after the verb) and didn't think to change it around for non-interogative sentences!

And of course, close family members dont require the definite article for the possessive!

I did wonder about taking out the 'u' in weather as well Glad I noticed it..

I do have one more question. Sorry, two actually:

*1) is Þegar just preferred here or is Hvenær actually wrong?

2) 'vorin', that's in **plural nominative, right? Is there a reason why it's plural? Are the other seasons in the same form as well? If so when do you use 'vor', only when talking about a specific one?
*


----------



## butra

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> *1) is Þegar just preferred here or is Hvenær actually wrong?*


 
Hvenær is wrong. 
Hvenær and þegar ar both translated as when, but when when is an interrogative adverb you translate it as hvenær and we often see a question mark closely linked to it. 
When when is a temporal conjunction ( coniunctio temporalis like Cum ( quo tempore ) Caesar in Galliam venit it must be translated as þegar.


----------



## butra

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> *2) 'vorin', that's in plural nominative, right? Is there a reason why it's plural? Are the other seasons in the same form as well? If so when do you use 'vor', only when talking about a specific one?*


 
Vorin is in the acc case! Á is a preposition that can take acc or dat cases. In this case it is acc and the reason for the plural is that it refers to all springs! I guess it´s easiest just to accept that this the Icelandic way of expressing a phrase like that.

In the morning: á morgnana. I wake up early in the morning (every morning). Ég vakna snemma á morgnana.
In the evening: á kvöldin.
In (the) spring: á vorin.
In (the) summer: á sumrin.
In (the) autumn: á haustin.
In (the) winter: á veturna.

From what you say, the implication is that you use the singular when talking about a specific vor and you are right.
My mum and dad went to London, they didn't have a good time, the weather was not good in the spring.
Mamma mín og pabbi minn fóru til Lundúna, þau höfðu það ekki gott, veðrið var ekki gott um vorið.


----------



## Alxmrphi

Ah, you can use 'um vorið' as well! (I like this better)
As for calling it the nominative, I meant to say accusative, because on the declension table it is the same as the nominative, and I just followed the line to nominative, forgetting about 'á'.

*I think that's solved all my xmas day problems! (ég hafði það mjög gott!)*


----------



## butra

Ég hef líka haft það mjög gott.
Gleðileg jól!


----------

