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Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar.

Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar.
I take a shower and then brush my teeth.

Breakdown of Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar.

ég
I
og
and
bursta
to brush
tönnin
the tooth
síðan
then
fara í sturtu
to take a shower
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Questions & Answers about Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar.

Why does bursta look like an infinitive? Shouldn’t it change for ég?

In Icelandic, the present tense 1st person singular of many verbs is identical to the infinitive form.

  • Infinitive: að bursta = to brush
  • Present: ég bursta = I brush
    Compare:
  • ég bursta (I brush)
  • þú burstar (you brush)
  • hann/hún/það burstar (he/she/it brushes)
Why isn’t ég repeated before bursta?

Because the two verbs are coordinated with og (and), and they share the same subject. So ég is understood for both:

  • Ég fer ... og (ég) bursta ...

You can repeat ég for emphasis or clarity, but it’s not required.

What exactly is the construction fara í sturtu?

It’s a very common idiom meaning “to take a shower,” literally “to go into a shower.” Icelandic often uses fara í X for activities:

  • fara í sturtu = take a shower
  • fara í bað = take a bath
  • fara í bíó = go to the cinema
Why is it í sturtu and not something like í sturtunni?

í sturtu is the standard “activity” phrasing (take a shower). It’s not focusing on being located in a specific shower, but on doing the action.

If you wanted “in the shower” as a location, you might use something like:

  • í sturtunni = in the shower (the specific shower)
What case is sturtu and why?

sturtu is accusative singular of sturta (a feminine noun). The preposition í can take:

  • accusative for movement/into (direction)
  • dative for location/in (static position)

In fer í sturtu, you’re “going into” the activity, so accusative is used.

What does síðan do in the sentence, and where can it go?

síðan means “then / afterwards.” Here it links the second action as happening after the first.

It’s flexible in placement. These are all possible with slightly different rhythm/emphasis:

  • Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar.
  • Ég fer í sturtu og bursta tennurnar síðan.
  • Ég fer í sturtu. Síðan bursta ég tennurnar.
Why is it tennurnar and not just tennur?

tennurnar means the teeth (definite). Icelandic usually attaches the definite article to the end of the noun:

  • tennur = teeth
  • tennurnar = the teeth

In everyday Icelandic, talking about brushing your teeth commonly uses the definite form: bursta tennurnar.

Is tennurnar accusative, and does it matter here?

Yes: tennurnar is the direct object of bursta, and bursta takes an accusative object.

In this particular word, nominative plural and accusative plural happen to look the same (tennurnar), but grammatically it’s still functioning as an accusative object.

Why does tönn become tenn- in tennurnar?

That’s an irregular (but common) vowel change in the plural:

  • Singular: tönn (tooth)
  • Plural: tennur (teeth)
  • Plural definite: tennurnar (the teeth)

So the stem changes: ö → e in the plural.

Does the present tense here mean “I am going” (right now) or “I (usually) go” (habit)?

The Icelandic present tense can cover both, depending on context:

  • right now / immediate plan: “I’m going to take a shower and then brush my teeth.”
  • habit/routine: “I take a shower and then brush my teeth.”

If you want to make “right now” clearer, you can add a time word like núna (now).

How would I negate this sentence?

Negation uses ekki (not), usually placed after the verb it negates:

  • Ég fer ekki í sturtu og bursta síðan tennurnar. (I don’t take a shower and then brush my teeth.)
    If you want to negate only the second action:
  • Ég fer í sturtu og bursta síðan ekki tennurnar. (I take a shower and then don’t brush my teeth.)
How is this sentence typically pronounced (roughly)?

A rough guide (broadly, with common connected-speech effects):

  • Ég ≈ yeh(g) (often with a light g/gh at the end)
  • fer ≈ fehr
  • í = long ee
  • sturtu ≈ stur-tu (with Icelandic u/ö-like vowels; both u’s are not like English “oo”)
  • og is often reduced in speech (the g may be very light)
  • síðan ≈ see-than (with Icelandic ð like “th” in this)
  • tennurnar ≈ ten-nur-nar (with rolled/light r)