Við förum á veitingastað á morgun.

We go to a restaurant tomorrow.

Breakdown of Við förum á veitingastað á morgun.

• við: we
• fara: to go
• morgun: the morning
• á: to
• veitingastaður: the restaurant

Questions & Answers about Við förum á veitingastað á morgun.

What does Við mean and why is it necessary here?

Við is the Icelandic subject pronoun “we.” Unlike English, Icelandic is not a pro-drop language, so you normally include the pronoun even though the verb ending already marks the person. Hence við is required to say “we go/are going.”

Why is the present tense förum used when talking about something happening tomorrow? Isn’t there a future tense?

Icelandic does not have a separate future tense. The simple present is commonly used for near-future events, especially when a time adverbial like á morgun (“tomorrow”) is added. So Við förum á morgun literally means “We go tomorrow,” i.e. “We are going tomorrow.”

What is the infinitive of förum, and how is it conjugated in the present tense?

The infinitive is fara (“to go”), an irregular (strong) verb. Its present-tense paradigm is:
Ég fer
Þú ferð
Hann/hún fer
Við förum
Þið farið
Þeir/þær/þau fara

Here förum is 1st person plural: “we go/are going.”

What does á veitingastað mean, and why isn’t there an article like “a” or “the”?

Á plus the accusative expresses movement toward a place: á veitingastað = “to (a) restaurant.” Icelandic doesn’t have separate indefinite articles; you just use the noun. To say “to the restaurant,” you would add the definite ending: á veitingastaðinn.

Why does veitingastaður lose “-ur” and become veitingastað?

Veitingastaður is a masculine noun whose nominative singular ends in -ur. In the accusative singular (required by á for direction), strong masculine nouns typically drop the -ur, leaving veitingastað.

How does á morgun work to mean “tomorrow”?

Many time expressions in Icelandic use á + accusative singular, e.g. á sunnudag (“on Sunday”). Morgunn is a masculine noun; its accusative form is spelled morgun, so á morgun = “tomorrow.”

Can I start the sentence with Á morgun instead of Við?

Yes. Icelandic follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. If you front Á morgun (the time expression), the finite verb must come next:
“Á morgun förum við á veitingastað.”
This still means “We’re going to a restaurant tomorrow.”

Any advice on pronouncing veitingastaður?

Break it into syllables: VEI-ting-a-staður. Approximate English sounds:
VEI “vay”
ting “ting”
a “ah”
staður “stah-thoor” (ð like the “th” in “this”)
Stress falls on the first syllable: VEI-ting-a-staður.