Questions & Answers about Við förum út á svalirnar í kvöld.
Why is svalirnar plural when English usually says the balcony?
Because Icelandic often uses svalir as a plural noun for what English treats as a singular balcony.
So:
- svalir = balcony / balconies
- svalirnar = the balcony / the balconies
Even though the form is plural in Icelandic, it is very often translated naturally as singular in English.
Why is it á svalirnar and not á svölunum?
This is a very common Icelandic pattern.
With á, the case changes depending on whether there is:
- movement toward a place → accusative
- location in a place → dative
Here, Við förum út á svalirnar means we go out onto the balcony, so there is movement toward the balcony. That is why Icelandic uses the accusative form svalirnar.
Compare:
- Við förum út á svalirnar. = We go out onto the balcony.
- Við erum úti á svölunum. = We are outside on the balcony.
So:
- á svalirnar = onto the balcony
- á svölunum = on the balcony
What does út add here? Isn’t förum á svalirnar enough?