Ég er laus í dag.

I

Breakdown of Ég er laus í dag.

• vera: to be
• í dag: today
• laus: free

Questions & Answers about Ég er laus í dag.

What is the literal translation of í dag, and why is it two separate words?

Literally, í means “in” and dag is “day,” so í dag = “in (the) day.” Together they form the temporal expression “today.” Modern Icelandic spells it as two words (historically you might see ídag, but the current norm is í dag).

What case is dag in, and why does í take that case here?

Here dag is in the accusative singular (the basic form without -ur). The preposition í can govern either accusative or dative: with locations it’s dative (e.g. í skólanum “in the school”), but with time expressions it’s accusative, so í dag uses the accusative.

What does laus mean in this sentence?

Laus is an adjective meaning “free” or “available” (i.e. not busy). It can also mean “loose” in other contexts, but here it conveys “I have time today.”

Why is laus used instead of frí to say “I’m free”?

Frí is a noun meaning “a holiday” or “a break” (e.g. ég er frí can mean “I’m off work” or “I’m on vacation”). To express availability, you use the adjective laus. So ég er laus í dag = “I’m available today,” while ég er frí í dag = “I have the day off.”