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Questions & Answers about Ég fer í sturtu eftir vinnu.
Why is fer used here, and what tense does it convey?
fer is the present tense of fara (“to go”). In Icelandic, the present can also express the near future. Here it literally means “I go to the shower,” but in English we’d say “I’ll take a shower” or “I’m going to take a shower.”
Why fer í sturtu rather than using a verb like taka (“to take”)? We say “take a shower” in English.
Icelandic allows both taka sturtu (“to take a shower”) and fara í sturtu (“to go into a shower”). Both are correct; fara í sturtu is simply a very common idiom meaning “go for a shower.” You will also hear ég tek sturtu as a direct parallel to English.
Why is the preposition í used with sturtu? Does it require a special case?
When you talk about motion into something, Icelandic uses í plus the accusative case. Here sturtu is the accusative singular of sturta. Think “into the shower.” That’s why it’s í sturtu, not á sturtu.
Why is there no article with sturtu? English speakers expect “a” or “the.”
With fara í plus a general activity or place, Icelandic typically drops the article: fara í sturtu, fara í bíó (“go to the movies”), fara í sund (“go swimming”). It’s idiomatic. If you really meant a specific shower, you would say í sturtuna.
Why is vinnu in the dative case after eftir? How do I recognize that?
The preposition eftir (“after”) always takes the dative. So vinna (“work”) becomes vinnu in the singular dative, signaled by the –u ending.
Why is there no article before vinnu? Shouldn’t it be eftir vinnuna (“after the work”)?
Here vinnu is indefinite, meaning “after work” in general (i.e. after finishing your shift). If you referred to a specific piece of work you could say eftir vinnuna.
Why is eftir vinnu placed at the end? Can I say Eftir vinnu fer ég í sturtu?
Yes—you can front the adverbial phrase: Eftir vinnu fer ég í sturtu. But the neutral word order is subject–verb–object/adverbial, so Ég fer í sturtu eftir vinnu is more common.
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