Word
Ég ætla að hvíla mig í smástund eftir vinnu.
Meaning
I’m going to rest for a little while after work.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Ég ætla að hvíla mig í smástund eftir vinnu.
ég
I
vinnan
the work
eftir
after
ætla að
to be going to
Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að hvíla mig í smástund eftir vinnu.
Why does the sentence start with Ég? Can Icelandic drop the subject like Spanish?
Icelandic generally keeps an explicit subject, so Ég (I) is normal and expected. You can omit the subject in some contexts (especially in informal speech, diaries, or when it’s obvious), but it’s much less common than in many “pro-drop” languages. For learners, it’s best to include Ég.
What exactly does ætla að mean here, and how is it used?
að ætla að + infinitive is a very common way to express intention/plan: I intend to / I’m going to do something.
- Ég ætla að hvíla mig = I’m going to rest (myself) / I intend to rest.
Grammar-wise, ætla is conjugated for the subject (ég ætla), and the next verb (hvíla) stays in the infinitive after að.
Why is there an að before hvíla? Is it like to in English?
Often, yes: að commonly marks an infinitive, similar to English to.
In Ég ætla að hvíla mig, the structure is [finite verb] + að + [infinitive]. Many verbs of intention, trying, beginning, etc. use this pattern in Icelandic.
What does hvíla mig literally mean, and why is mig there?