Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Ég fæ stundum höfuðverk.

Breakdown of Ég fæ stundum höfuðverk.

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Why is the verb fæ here? What’s its infinitive and typical use?

Fæ is the 1st person singular present of the verb að fá “to get/receive.”
With symptoms, Icelandic commonly uses fá to mean “get”: Ég fæ stundum höfuðverk = “I sometimes get a headache.”
English often says “have a headache,” but Icelandic prefers either fá (“get”) for onset/repeated events, or vera með (“be with/have”) for a current state:
- Onset: Ég er að fá höfuðverk. “I’m getting a headache.”
- State: Ég er með höfuðverk. “I have a headache (right now).”

Why is it höfuðverk and not höfuðverkur?

Höfuðverkur (masculine) is the nominative singular form.
After fá, the direct object is in the accusative singular, which for this noun is höfuðverk (no -ur).
So: nominative (subject) = höfuðverkur; accusative (object) = höfuðverk.

Where does the adverb stundum go? Can I move it?

Default with a subject first: verb in 2nd position, then the frequency adverb: Ég fæ stundum höfuðverk.
You can front the adverb; then the verb must still be second (V2): Stundum fæ ég höfuðverk.
Ég stundum fæ… is ungrammatical in main clauses (violates V2).
Ending the sentence with the adverb (Ég fæ höfuðverk stundum) is understandable but less idiomatic in neutral speech.

Can I say Ég hef höfuðverk to mean “I have a headache”?

It’s grammatically possible but not the most idiomatic. Prefer:
- Current state: Ég er (stundum) með höfuðverk.
- Habit/onset: Ég fæ (stundum) höfuðverk.
Use hafa with the perfect: Ég hef fengið höfuðverk = “I have gotten a headache.”

How would I ask “Do you sometimes get headaches?” in Icelandic?

Færð þú stundum höfuðverk? (standard spacing)
In everyday writing/speech, a contracted form is common: Færðu stundum höfuðverk?
Both are understood; the first is more formal/explicit.

How do I say “I’m getting a headache (right now)”?

Ég er að fá höfuðverk.
This “er að + infinitive” construction expresses an action in progress.

Is höfuðverk singular or plural here? How do I say “headaches” (plural)?

Here it’s singular, indefinite (Icelandic has no word for the English article “a”).
It often translates as either “a headache” or “headaches” generically.
If you want explicit plural: höfuðverkir (nom. pl.), accusative plural höfuðverki:
- Ég fæ stundum höfuðverki. = “I sometimes get headaches.”

Is höfuðverk a compound? Can I use hausverk instead?

Yes. Höfuð- “head” + -verkur “ache/pain” → höfuðverkur/höfuðverk.
Hausverk(ur) is a common, slightly more colloquial alternative. Both are understood; höfuðverk(ur) is more neutral/standard.

What case does fá govern?

Fá takes a direct object in the accusative.
Examples: Ég fæ póst (mail), Ég fæ gjöf (a gift), Ég fæ höfuðverk (a headache).

Quick pronunciation tips for the sentence?

Ég: initial sounds like “yeh,” often [jɛː] (the g is a soft fricative or disappears).
Fæ: æ like English “eye.”
Stundum: both u’s like the vowel in English “put”; stress on the first syllable.
Höfuðverk: ö like the vowel in French “peur”; ð is a soft voiced “th” (often very light between vowels); r is tapped; Icelandic stress is on the first syllable of each word/compound part.

Can I put other frequency adverbs in the same slot as stundum?

Yes. After the finite verb in a neutral main clause:
- Ég fæ oft/aldrei/sjaldan höfuðverk.
Or front the adverb with V2:
- Oft fæ ég höfuðverk.

Are there other idiomatic ways to say I have/get a headache?

State: Ég er með höfuðverk.
Onset: Ég er að fá höfuðverk.
Impersonal pain expression: Mig verkjar í höfðinu. (“My head aches,” literally “It aches me in the head.”)
Another common phrasing for “my head hurts”: Mér er illt í höfðinu.

Why isn’t there a word for “a” before höfuðverk?

Icelandic has no indefinite article. Bare singular nouns often correspond to English “a/an.”
So höfuðverk can mean “a headache” in English.

How is að fá conjugated in the forms I’ll need most?