í tvö ár / eftir viku

For a Period and in a While

Level 2

í tvö ár = for two years (how long). eftir viku = in a week (how soon).

How It Works

How long: í + accusative.

  • Ég bjó í Noregi í tvö ár. (I lived in Norway for two years.)
  • Við verðum hér í þrjá daga. (We'll be here for three days.)
  • Hún beið í klukkutíma. (She waited for an hour.)

The time phrase is accusative: þrjá daga, þrjár vikur, einn mánuð. You can also leave out í: Hún beið klukkutíma.

How soon: eftir + accusative.

  • Ég kem eftir viku. (I'll come in a week.)
  • Myndin byrjar eftir tíu mínútur. (The film starts in ten minutes.)
  • Eftir tvo daga förum við heim. (In two days we'll go home.)

Don't mix them up. Ég kem eftir viku means "I'll come in a week". Ég verð hér í viku means "I'll be here for a week".

Looking back. For "ago", use fyrir + dative: fyrir tveimur árum (two years ago). For something still going on, see síðan.

Examples (5)

  1. Ég bjó í Noregi í tvö ár.

    I lived in Norway for two years.

    Word by Word: I lived in Norway in two years.

  2. Við verðum í Reykjavík í þrjá daga.

    We'll be in Reykjavík for three days.

    Word by Word: We will-be in Reykjavík in three days.

    þrjá daga is accusative.

  3. Ég kem eftir viku.

    I'll come in a week.

    Word by Word: I come after week.

  4. Myndin byrjar eftir tíu mínútur.

    The film starts in ten minutes.

    Word by Word: The-film begins after ten minutes.

  5. Eftir tvo daga förum við heim.

    In two days we're going home.

    Word by Word: After two days go we home.

    The time phrase comes first, so the verb förum comes before við.

Common Mistakes

  • Using í for "in a week" from now.

    Ég kem í viku.
    Ég kem eftir viku.

    Ég kem í viku means you are coming for a week, not in a week. To say when something will happen, use eftir.

  • Using the nominative after eftir or í.

    Ég kem eftir tveir dagar.
    Ég kem eftir tvo daga.

    The time phrase is accusative: tvo daga.

  • Using fyrir for a length of time, as with English "for".

    Ég bjó í Noregi fyrir tvö ár.
    Ég bjó í Noregi í tvö ár.

    fyrir + dative with a time means "ago": fyrir tveimur árum. For how long something lasted, use í.

How It Connects

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

í tvö ár / eftir vikuLevel 2For a Period and in a While

Learn This First

For a period builds on fyrir.

Words in This Pattern

eftir