vegna þess að
Because (Vegna Þess Að)
vegna þess að means because: Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég var veikur (I didn't come because I was sick).
How It Works
Giving a reason. The reason clause usually follows the main clause, and its verb is in the indicative:
- Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég var veikur. (I didn't come because I was sick.)
- Hún er þreytt vegna þess að hún svaf illa. (She is tired because she slept badly.)
Word order inside. As in every subordinate clause, ekki follows the verb: vegna þess að ég hafði ekki tíma.
Starting with the reason. The clause can come first; then the main clause starts with its verb (verb-second word order): Vegna þess að það rigndi fórum við ekki út.
Because of + noun. vegna is one of the genitive prepositions: vegna veðursins (because of the weather), vegna veikinda (because of illness). On signs you will see Lokað vegna veðurs (Closed because of the weather).
Do not mix it up with þess vegna. The same two words in the other order mean that is why: Ég var veikur. Þess vegna kom ég ekki. See þess vegna. The question word hvers vegna (why) is built from vegna too.
Examples (5)
- Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég var veikur.
I didn't come because I was sick.
Word by Word: I came not because of that that I was sick.
- Hún er þreytt vegna þess að hún svaf illa.
She is tired because she slept badly.
Word by Word: She is tired because of that that she slept badly.
- Vegna þess að það rigndi fórum við ekki út.
Because it was raining, we didn't go out.
Word by Word: Because of that that it rained went we not out.
The reason comes first, so the main clause starts with fórum.
- Ég missti af strætó vegna þess að ég vaknaði of seint.
I missed the bus because I woke up too late.
Word by Word: I lost of bus because of that that I woke too late.
- Búðin er lokuð vegna veðurs.
The shop is closed because of the weather.
Word by Word: The shop is closed because-of weather's.
vegna + genitive before a noun: veðurs.
Common Mistakes
Using the wrong case after vegna.
Við fórum ekki út vegna veðrið.Við fórum ekki út vegna veðursins.vegna takes the genitive: veðursins, not the nominative veðrið.
Putting ekki before the verb in the reason clause.
Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég ekki hafði tíma.Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég hafði ekki tíma.In Icelandic subordinate clauses the verb still comes before ekki: hafði ekki.
Leaving out þess.
Ég kom ekki vegna að ég var veikur.Ég kom ekki vegna þess að ég var veikur.vegna cannot take að directly. It needs the genitive þess: vegna þess að.
How It Connects
Learn This First
vegna þess að builds on af því að and genitive prepositions.
Related Patterns
- þess vegnaThat Is Why (Þess Vegna)
The same words in the other order mean that is why.
Level 3 - af hverju / hvers vegnaWhy (Af Hverju)
hvers vegna (why) is often answered with vegna þess að or af því að.
Level 1 - Verb Before Negation in Subordinate Clauses: ekkiThe Verb Before Ekki in Subordinate Clauses
Inside the clause, the verb comes before ekki.
Level 2 - þar semWhere and Since (Þar Sem)
Another way to give a reason, especially when it opens the sentence.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice vegna þess að in Bubblegum
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