Questions & Answers about Við förum í ferðalag í ár.
Icelandic very often uses the simple present tense to talk about the future, especially when there is a time expression like í ár (this year) that makes the future meaning clear.
So við förum í ferðalag í ár literally is we go on a trip this year, but it is naturally understood as we are going on a trip this year or we will go on a trip this year.
There is no single, separate "will"-future tense in Icelandic like in English. Instead, you mainly see:
- simple present (förum) with a time expression
- or auxiliary verbs like ætla (to intend) and munu (will), e.g. við ætlum að fara or við munum fara.
Förum is first person plural, present indicative of the verb fara (to go).
The main present-tense forms of fara are:
- ég fer – I go
- þú ferð – you (sg.) go
- hann / hún / það fer – he / she / it goes
- við förum – we go
- þið farið – you (pl.) go
- þeir / þær / þau fara – they go
So við förum simply means we go (and in this sentence, by context, we are going / we will go).
The preposition í is very flexible in Icelandic and usually means in, into, or to, depending on context. It can take either accusative or dative:
- í + accusative often expresses movement into something or time duration/point in time.
- í + dative often expresses location inside something (no movement).
In this sentence:
- í ferðalag – motion into the state of being on a trip, so ferðalag is in the accusative.
- í ár – a fixed time expression meaning this year; ár is also in the accusative.
So both ferðalag and ár are accusative here, but because both are neuter singular, the form looks the same as the nominative.
Ferðalag is neuter singular accusative here, governed by the preposition í in the sense of going on a trip (movement into an activity/state).
For neuter nouns in Icelandic, the nominative and accusative singular forms are usually identical in spelling:
- nominative: ferðalag
- accusative: ferðalag
You know it is accusative not from the ending, but from:
- the preposition í (here expressing motion into an activity)
- the meaning of the whole phrase (going on a trip, not being in a trip as a location).
Both ferð and ferðalag can be translated as trip / journey, but there are some nuances:
ferð (feminine) is the more basic, very common word for trip, journey, ride.
- Við förum í ferð – we go on a trip (also correct).
ferðalag (neuter) is a compound: ferð (trip) + -lag (roughly “course, track, laying”).
It can feel slightly more like journey / travel / travelling, sometimes a bit more “whole trip as an event”.
In everyday speech, í ferð and í ferðalag can both be natural; choice often depends on style and rhythm rather than a hard rule. In this sentence, í ferðalag sounds very natural and common.
Icelandic has no indefinite article like English a / an.
So:
- ferðalag can mean trip or a trip, depending on context.
- If you want to say the trip, you add a definite ending: ferðalagið (ið is the neuter definite ending).
In this sentence, í ferðalag is naturally read as on a trip in English, but the “a” is simply not expressed in Icelandic.
Í ár is a fixed expression that means this year, i.e. during the current calendar year. It does not mean in a year (from now).
To say in a year (from now), you would normally use something like:
- eftir eitt ár – in one year
- eftir ár – in a year (more loosely).
Other similar time expressions:
- í gær – yesterday
- í dag – today
- í vetur – this winter
So in við förum í ferðalag í ár, í ár is clearly this year.
Yes, you can say Í ár förum við í ferðalag, and it is perfectly correct.
Icelandic word order is fairly flexible. Moving í ár to the front gives it more emphasis, a bit like:
- This year, we’re going on a trip.
The basic meaning does not change. The original:
- Við förum í ferðalag í ár is more neutral: We’re going on a trip this year.
Bringing í ár to the front makes this year sound slightly more contrastive or focused.
All three are correct, but they have slightly different flavors:
Við förum í ferðalag í ár.
- Very natural and common.
- Simple present used with a time expression to indicate a planned / expected future.
Við ætlum í ferðalag í ár.
- Uses ætla (“intend, plan”).
- Emphasizes intention or plan: We are planning to go on a trip this year.
- You often see við ætlum að fara í ferðalag í ár too; the að fara can be omitted in casual speech.
Við munum fara í ferðalag í ár.
- Uses munu (a modal roughly like will).
- Sounds a bit more formal or explicit, like a clear future statement: We will go on a trip this year.
In everyday conversation, við förum í ferðalag í ár or við ætlum í ferðalag í ár are probably the most common.
To say we go on a trip every year, you could say:
- Við förum í ferðalag á hverju ári.
Here:
- á hverju ári = every year (literally on each year, with ári in the dative).
The difference:
- Við förum í ferðalag í ár. – This year we’re going on a trip (a specific event this year).
- Við förum í ferðalag á hverju ári. – We go on a trip every year (a repeated habit or tradition).
Approximate pronunciation (in simple English-style hints):
- Við – like vith, where ð is like th in this.
- förum – roughly FUR-um, but the ö is like the French eu in peu or German ö in schön.
- í – like a long ee sound, ee.
- ferðalag – roughly FER-tha-lag:
- ferð ≈ ferth (again ð as in this).
- alag ≈ a-lag, with the final g a bit softer, like a light g/gh sound.
- í ár – ee owr, where ár rhymes loosely with hour (shorter and with a clearer r).
Very rough whole-sentence approximation:
Vith FUR-um ee FER-tha-lag ee owr.
Stress is on the first syllable of each content word: Við, FÖR-um, FER-ða-lag, ár.