Ég hef spurt þig mörgum sinnum.

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Breakdown of Ég hef spurt þig mörgum sinnum.

• spyrja: to ask
• þig: you
• hafa: to have

Questions & Answers about Ég hef spurt þig mörgum sinnum.

What tense and aspect does hef spurt represent, and how is it formed in Icelandic?

Hef spurt is the present perfect (perfekt) in Icelandic. It’s formed with the auxiliary verb hafa (here in the first-person singular as hef) plus the past participle of the main verb (spurt). It conveys that you’ve asked at some point(s) in the past and that it’s relevant or continues up to now.

Why is spurt used here instead of spurði?

Spurt is the past participle of spyrja (“to ask”), required for the perfect tense. Spurði is the simple past (preterite) form, used when you just want a straightforward past statement (“I asked you”).

What case is þig, and why is it used?

Þig is the accusative singular form of þú (“you”). It’s the direct object of the verb spyrja, so it must appear in the accusative.

Why do we say mörgum sinnum instead of something like margir sinnum?

Sinnum (“times”) here is in the dative plural, and the adjective margur (“many”) must agree with it in case, number, and gender. So we get mörgum sinnum, literally “on many times,” which is the typical Icelandic way to express frequency.