Ég lít á kortið áður en ég fer.

I

Breakdown of Ég lít á kortið áður en ég fer.

• fara: to go
• áður en: before
• á: at

Questions & Answers about Ég lít á kortið áður en ég fer.

What does líta á mean here?

Here líta á means to look at.

A very important point is that líta by itself and líta á are not exactly the same thing. In this sentence, you should learn líta á as a unit:

• líta á eitthvað = look at something

So:

• Ég lít á kortið = I look at the map

This is similar to how English often uses verb + preposition combinations.

Why is there an á after lít?

Because the Icelandic expression is líta á.

English says look at, and Icelandic also needs a preposition here:

• líta á kortið = look at the map

So the á is not optional in this meaning. It belongs with the verb expression.

What form is lít?