Breakdown of Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina.
Questions & Answers about Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina.
Skipuleggja is the infinitive form (the dictionary form: to plan / to organize).
In the sentence you need a conjugated verb that matches the subject við (we), so you use the present tense, 1st person plural:
- ég skipulegg – I plan
- þú skipuleggur – you (sg.) plan
- hann / hún / það skipuleggur – he / she / it plans
- við skipuleggjum – we plan
- þið skipuleggjið – you (pl.) plan
- þeir / þær / þau skipuleggja – they plan
So við skipuleggjum literally means we plan / we are planning.
Icelandic distinguishes between subject and object forms, similar to we vs us in English.
- við = we (subject form, nominative case)
- okkur = us (object form, accusative/dative case)
In this sentence, we are doing the action (we are the subject), so you must use við:
- Við skipuleggjum ferðalag. – We are planning a trip.
You would use okkur when us is the object, for example:
- Kennarinn hjálpar okkur. – The teacher helps us.
Skipuleggjum is present tense.
Icelandic normally does not have a separate future tense. Present tense is used instead, and context shows that it is about the future:
- Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina.
Literally: We plan a trip during the weekend, but naturally understood as
We are planning a trip for the weekend / We’re going to plan a trip this weekend.
So present tense in Icelandic often covers present and near future, like English I’m going tomorrow.
Ferðalag is in the accusative singular.
- The verb skipuleggja (to plan) takes a direct object.
- Direct objects are normally in the accusative case.
- Ferðalag is a neuter noun. For many neuter nouns, nominative and accusative singular look the same.
Paradigm (simplified):
- Nominative sg.: ferðalag
- Accusative sg.: ferðalag
So in Við skipuleggjum ferðalag, ferðalag is the direct object in the accusative, even though it looks like the nominative form.
Icelandic has no separate word for the indefinite article (a / an in English).
- English: a trip
- Icelandic: ferðalag (just the bare noun)
For the definite article (the), Icelandic normally adds a suffix to the noun instead of a separate word:
- ferðalag – (a) trip
- ferðalagið – the trip
So the sentence Við skipuleggjum ferðalag naturally means We are planning a trip.
Um helgina is a time expression:
- um – around / during / over (here: over / during)
- helgina – the weekend (accusative singular, definite form)
Helgi is a feminine noun meaning weekend:
- Nominative sg. indefinite: helgi – (a) weekend
- Nominative sg. definite: helgin – the weekend
- Accusative sg. definite: helgina – the weekend (as object or after prepositions like um)
The preposition um takes the accusative, so you get:
- um helgina – over the weekend / this weekend
You would use um helgar (accusative plural) to talk about weekends in general:
- Við förum í sund um helgar. – We go swimming on weekends.
In this context, um means over / during in a time expression.
- um helgina – over the weekend / during the weekend
Important points:
- um usually takes the accusative case.
Its meaning can vary: around, about, concerning, over, during, etc.
Some examples:
- um borgina – around the city
- tala um það – talk about it
- um jólin – over Christmas
Here, it clearly has the time meaning: over / during the weekend.
Yes, that is actually very natural in Icelandic.
Both are correct:
- Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina.
- Um helgina skipuleggjum við ferðalag.
Icelandic main clauses usually obey a “verb-second” (V2) pattern:
- If something other than the subject (um helgina) comes first, the finite verb (skipuleggjum) usually comes second, and the subject (við) follows it.
What you normally don’t say is:
- ✗ Við um helgina skipuleggjum ferðalag.
Here the verb is in third position, which sounds wrong in standard Icelandic.
Yes, you can, and it is also natural.
- Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina.
- Við erum að skipuleggja ferðalag um helgina.
Both can be translated as We are planning a trip for the weekend.
Nuance:
- Við skipuleggjum… – simple present; can mean we (will) plan / we are planning, slightly more neutral or “schedule-like”.
- Við erum að skipuleggja… – more like we are in the process of planning, similar to the English continuous we are planning right now.
In many contexts, there is little practical difference, and both are fine.
Both can be translated as trip / journey, but there is a nuance:
- ferð – trip, journey, ride, tour; very common and quite general.
- ferðalag – (literally) a travel-going; often feels a bit more like a “journey / trip” as an event, sometimes a bit longer or more “of an undertaking”.
In everyday speech, ferð is more frequent:
- Við förum í ferð um helgina. – We’re going on a trip this weekend.
- Við skipuleggjum ferðalag um helgina. – We’re planning a trip / journey for the weekend.
In this sentence, ferðalag is perfectly natural; you could also hear ferð.
ferðalag – neuter noun
- Nominative sg.: ferðalag
- Accusative sg.: ferðalag
- Nominative pl.: ferðalög
- Accusative pl.: ferðalög
- Definite sg.: ferðalagið
- Definite pl.: ferðalögin
helgi – feminine noun
- Nominative sg.: helgi – (a) weekend
- Definite nominative sg.: helgin – the weekend
- Accusative sg. definite: helgina – the weekend (after um)
- Nominative/accusative pl. indefinite: helgar – weekends
- Definite pl.: helgarnar – the weekends
That’s why you get:
- ferðalag (object, neuter acc. sg., same as nom.)
- um helgina (prep um
- feminine acc. sg. definite).
Very roughly, in an English-friendly way:
- Við – like vee but shorter, with a soft th at the end (as in this) → vee-th
- skipuleggjum – SKEE-pu-leh-gyoom
- ggj is a hard palatal sound, a bit like k+y together, not like English “j”.
- ferðalag – FER-tha-lahg
- ð is again the soft th in this.
- um – a short oom, but with a very short u, not like long English oo.
- helgina – HEL-gin-ah (the g is quite hard, not like the soft English g in giant).
Putting it together (very approximate):
Vee-th SKEE-pu-leh-gyoom FER-tha-lahg oom HEL-gin-ah.
The main stress in Icelandic words is almost always on the first syllable.