Word
Við flýtum okkur í vinnuna á morgnana.
Meaning
We hurry to work in the mornings.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Við flýtum okkur í vinnuna á morgnana.
Why is there an extra word okkur after the verb? What does flýtum okkur mean?
The verb is flýta sér, a reflexive verb meaning “to hurry (oneself).” In Icelandic, reflexive verbs require a matching reflexive pronoun. With the subject við (we), the required form is okkur (us, dative). So Við flýtum okkur literally means “We hurry ourselves,” i.e., “We hurry.”
Can I just say Við flýtum without okkur?
No. Without the reflexive pronoun, flýta needs an object and means “to speed up/expedite” something:
- Við flýtum verkefninu. = “We are speeding up the project.”
To mean “we hurry,” you must use the reflexive form: Við flýtum okkur.
Why is okkur (not við) used, and why is it in the dative?
Reflexive verbs use a reflexive object that agrees with the subject in person/number and is in the case the verb governs. Flýta sér governs the dative. The dative reflexive forms are:
- 1sg: mér, 2sg: þér, 3rd: sér, 1pl: okkur, 2pl: ykkur, 3pl: sér.
Hence: ég flýti mér, við flýtum okkur, etc.
How do you conjugate flýta sér in the present?