þó að / þótt

Although (Þó Að, Þótt)

Level 4

Hann fór út þó að það væri kalt. (He went out even though it was cold.) The verb after þó að is in the subjunctive.

How It Works

Two words, one meaning. þó að and þótt can replace each other: Þótt hún sé þreytt ... = Þó að hún sé þreytt ... Both take the subjunctive.

Choosing the tense.

  • Main clause in the present → present subjunctive: Hún heldur áfram þótt hún sé þreytt. (She keeps going although she is tired.)
  • Main clause in the past → past subjunctive: Hann fór út þó að það væri kalt. (He went out although it was cold.)

Word order. When the þótt-clause comes first, it takes first place, so the main clause starts with its verb: Þótt hún sé þreytt heldur hún áfram. You can also add samt (still) or start with þá: Þó að ég segði honum það, þá gerði hann það ekki. (Even though I told him, he didn't do it.)

Even if. þótt can also mean even if: Ég fer út þótt það rigni. (I'm going out even if it rains.) For more emphasis, use jafnvel þótt.

þó alone. Without að, þó is an adverb meaning though or however and takes no subjunctive: Þetta var þó gaman. (It was fun, though.)

Examples (5)

  1. Hann fór út þó að það væri kalt.

    He went out even though it was cold.

    Word by Word: He went out though that it were cold.

  2. Þótt hún sé þreytt heldur hún áfram.

    Although she is tired, she keeps going.

    Word by Word: Though she be tired holds she forward.

    The þótt-clause comes first, so the main clause starts with heldur.

  3. Ég fer út þótt það rigni.

    I'm going out even if it rains.

    Word by Word: I go out though it rain.

  4. Þó að ég segði honum það gerði hann það ekki.

    Even though I told him, he didn't do it.

    Word by Word: Though that I told him it did he it not.

  5. Hún talar góða íslensku þótt hún hafi bara búið hér í tvö ár.

    She speaks good Icelandic even though she has only lived here for two years.

    Word by Word: She speaks good Icelandic though she have only lived here in two years.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the indicative after þó að.

    Hann fór út þó að það var kalt.
    Hann fór út þó að það væri kalt.

    þó að and þótt take the subjunctive, even when the fact is true: væri, not var.

  • Keeping the subject first after a fronted þótt-clause.

    Þótt hún sé þreytt hún heldur áfram.
    Þótt hún sé þreytt heldur hún áfram.

    The þótt-clause takes first place, so the verb heldur comes next and the subject hún follows.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

þó að / þóttLevel 4Although (Þó Að, Þótt)

Learn This First

Although builds on the subjunctive and en.

Words in This Pattern

þóaðþótt