þar sem

Where and Since (Þar Sem)

Level 4

Þetta er húsið þar sem ég fæddist. (This is the house where I was born.) Þar sem veðrið var vont var fluginu frestað. (Since the weather was bad, the flight was postponed.)

How It Works

Where, after a place. Use þar sem to describe a place:

  • Þetta er húsið þar sem ég fæddist. (This is the house where I was born.)
  • Ég man eftir kaffihúsinu þar sem við hittumst fyrst. (I remember the café where we first met.)

It follows the same idea as hvar, hvert and hvaðan:

  • þar sem (where, at a place): Ég bý þar sem pabbi býr. (I live where Dad lives.)
  • þangað sem (where, to a place): Farðu þangað sem þú vilt. (Go wherever you want.)
  • þaðan sem (where, from a place): Þaðan sem ég bý sé ég fjöllin. (From where I live, I can see the mountains.)

Since, as a reason. At the start of a sentence, þar sem usually gives a reason that is already known. The verb is indicative:

  • Þar sem veðrið var vont var fluginu frestað. (Since the weather was bad, the flight was postponed.)
  • Þar sem ég er ekki með bíl tek ég strætó. (Since I don't have a car, I take the bus.)

The þar sem-clause takes first place, so the main clause starts with its verb: var fluginu frestað, tek ég.

Not hvar. In English, where can both ask and describe. In Icelandic, hvar asks, directly or in an indirect question (Ég veit ekki hvar hann býr). To describe a place, use þar sem.

Examples (5)

  1. Þetta er húsið þar sem ég fæddist.

    This is the house where I was born.

    Word by Word: This is the-house there that I was-born.

  2. Ég man eftir kaffihúsinu þar sem við hittumst fyrst.

    I remember the café where we first met.

    Word by Word: I remember after the-café there that we met first.

  3. Þar sem veðrið var vont var fluginu frestað.

    Since the weather was bad, the flight was postponed.

    Word by Word: There that the-weather was bad was the-flight postponed.

    The reason clause comes first, so the main clause starts with var.

  4. Þar sem ég er ekki með bíl tek ég strætó.

    Since I don't have a car, I take the bus.

    Word by Word: There that I am not with car take I bus.

  5. Farðu þangað sem þú vilt.

    Go wherever you want.

    Word by Word: Go-you thither that you want.

    Movement to a place uses þangað sem.

Common Mistakes

  • Using hvar for where after a place.

    Þetta er húsið hvar ég fæddist.
    Þetta er húsið þar sem ég fæddist.

    hvar asks questions. To describe a place, use þar sem.

  • Keeping the subject first after a fronted þar sem-clause.

    Þar sem veðrið var vont fluginu var frestað.
    Þar sem veðrið var vont var fluginu frestað.

    The þar sem-clause takes first place, so the main clause begins with the verb var.

How It Connects

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

þar semLevel 4Where and Since (Þar Sem)

Learn This First

þar sem builds on sem and þar.

Words in This Pattern

þar semþarsemþangað