Breakdown of Við höfum farið yfir þessa brú mörgum sinnum.
við
we
þessi
this
hafa
to have
fara yfir
to go over
Questions & Answers about Við höfum farið yfir þessa brú mörgum sinnum.
Why is the verb phrase höfum farið used instead of a simple past like fórum?
Icelandic commonly uses the present perfect construction (hafa + past participle) to describe actions that have occurred in the past with relevance to the present or emphasise completion.
- Við höfum farið yfir = “We have gone over/We’ve crossed.”
You can also use simple past Við fórum yfir (“We went across”), but the perfect often sounds more natural when talking about repeated past experiences up to now.
What exactly does fara yfir mean, and how does yfir function here?
Fara yfir literally combines fara (“to go”) with the preposition yfir (“over, across”) to mean “to cross.”
- The preposition yfir indicates movement across something and requires the object to be in the accusative case (see next questions).
Why is þessa brú in the accusative case?
When you use fara yfir to express crossing, yfir is treated like a directional preposition taking the accusative.
- Nominative (subject): þessi brú
- Accusative (object of movement): þessa brú
Thus fara yfir þessa brú = “to cross this bridge.”
Why does the time expression appear as (dative plural) instead of ?