Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Ég fer strax heim.

Icelandic is not a pro-drop language. Although the verb ending tells you the person (e.g. fer is “I go”), you still normally include ég for clarity and naturalness.

What is fer and how does it relate to að fara?

Fer is the present-tense, first-person singular form of the irregular verb að fara, which means to go. The full present-tense paradigm looks roughly like:

ég fer (I go)
þú ferð (you go)
hann/hún fer (he/she goes)
við förum (we go)
…etc.

What does strax mean, and how is it different from words like brátt or seinna?

Strax means right away or immediately.

Brátt means soon (in a little while).
Seinna means later (after some time has passed).

Why is strax placed between fer and heim? Can you move it?

Icelandic follows a verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: the finite verb typically occupies the second position. Adverbs of time like strax usually come right after the verb.
So Ég (subject) + fer (verb) + strax (time adverb) + heim (direction) is the normal order.
You can front strax for emphasis (“Strax fer ég heim”), but that sounds more poetic or strong.

What does heim mean, and why not heima?

Heim expresses motion towards home (“homewards”).
Heima denotes location (“at home”).
– To say “go home” you use fara heim.
– To say “be at home” you use vera heima.

How do you pronounce Ég fer strax heim?

A rough phonetic guide is: yeh fehr strahks heym
• Ég /jɛː/ (the g is silent, “yeh”)
• fer /fɛr/ (r is a tapped r)
• strax /strahks/ (x = ks)
• heim /heim/ (like English “hame”)

Could you say Ég fer strax til heim with a preposition?

No. For go home Icelandic uses fara heim without til. You do use til with many other destinations (e.g. til bæjar “to town”), but not with heim.

What’s the difference between strax and beint in this sentence?

Strax means immediately (“right away”).
Beint means directly (“without detouring”).
So Ég fer strax heim = I go home right away.
And Ég fer beint heim = I go straight home (with no stops).