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Við förum með börnunum í skóginn á sunnudag.

Við förum með börnunum í skóginn á sunnudag.
We go with the children into the forest on Sunday.

Breakdown of Við förum með börnunum í skóginn á sunnudag.

við
we
barnið
the child
á
on
í
into
skógurinn
the forest
fara með
to take
sunnudagur
Sunday
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Questions & Answers about Við förum með börnunum í skóginn á sunnudag.

Why is it við förum and not við ferum?

Because Icelandic verbs conjugate for person and number. The verb fara (to go) is:

  • ég fer (I go)
  • þú ferð (you go)
  • hann/hún/það fer (he/she/it goes)
  • við förum (we go) So förum is the correct 1st person plural present tense form.
Is this sentence present tense or future tense? It talks about Sunday.
It’s grammatically present tense, but Icelandic commonly uses the present tense to talk about planned future actions, especially with a time expression like á sunnudag (on Sunday). English often uses will or are going, but Icelandic frequently just uses the present.
Why does börnunum end in -unum?

Because börnunum is dative plural with the definite article attached:

  • base noun: barn (child)
  • plural: börn (children)
  • dative plural (indefinite): börnum
  • dative plural (definite): börnunum = the children (in the dative) It’s dative because með (with) governs the dative case.
Why is it með börnunum and not með börnin?

Because the preposition með requires the dative, not the nominative/accusative.

  • börnin = the children (nominative/accusative plural)
  • börnunum = the children (dative plural)
    So með börnunum is required by the grammar of með.
What does með do here—does it mean “with” in the same way as English?
Yes. með most commonly means with, and it indicates accompaniment: we go with the children. The key difference from English is that in Icelandic it also forces the following noun phrase into the dative case.
Why is it í skóginn (with -inn)?

skóginn is accusative singular definite of skógur (forest), meaning the forest. You use í + accusative when there is movement into a place (destination). Here it’s “go into the forest,” so it’s:

  • í skóginn = into the forest (movement, accusative)
What would be the difference between í skóginn and í skóginum?

It’s the classic Icelandic location vs. motion contrast:

  • í skóginn (accusative) = into the forest (motion/destination)
  • í skóginum (dative) = in the forest (location) So if the sentence were about being there (not going there), you’d expect í skóginum.
Why is it á sunnudag and not á sunnudegi?

Both exist, but they tend to signal different things:

  • á sunnudag (accusative) is very common for a specific upcoming/selected day: “on Sunday (this/that Sunday).”
  • á sunnudegi (dative) is often used more for habitual/general time: “on Sundays” / “on a Sunday (as a general pattern).” In everyday speech, á sunnudag is the default for a concrete plan.
Why isn’t there a word for “the” before börnunum and skóginn?

Because Icelandic usually expresses the with a suffix attached to the noun (the “definite article”):

  • börn = children → börnin = the children (nom/acc), börnunum = the children (dat)
  • skógur = forest → skóginn = the forest (acc) So “the” is built into the noun endings rather than being a separate word.
Is the word order fixed? Could I move á sunnudag?

It’s fairly flexible, but placement changes emphasis and can trigger verb-second patterns in main clauses. Common alternatives include:

  • Við förum með börnunum í skóginn á sunnudag. (neutral)
  • Á sunnudag förum við með börnunum í skóginn. (emphasizes Sunday; still grammatical) In the second version, because the sentence starts with Á sunnudag, the verb förum comes next (Icelandic main clauses are typically verb-second).