Ég fer sjaldan í bíó á virkum dögum.

I rarely go to the cinema on weekdays.

Breakdown of Ég fer sjaldan í bíó á virkum dögum.

• ég: I
• fara: to go
• í: to
• sjaldan: rarely

Questions & Answers about Ég fer sjaldan í bíó á virkum dögum.

Why is it fer and not fara?

Fer is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb fara (to go).

So:

• að fara = to go
• ég fer = I go
• þú ferð = you go
• hann/hún/það fer = he/she/it goes

In Icelandic, you usually do not use the infinitive after the subject the way dictionary forms are listed. You need the conjugated form, so Ég fer = I go.

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Does Ég fer mean I go or I am going?

Here it means I go in the sense of a habit or general pattern.

Because the sentence also has sjaldan (seldom / rarely), the whole sentence is understood as something habitual:

• Ég fer sjaldan í bíó á virkum dögum.
• I rarely go to the cinema on weekdays.

Icelandic often uses the simple present for habitual actions, just like English does here.

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What does sjaldan do in the sentence, and why is it placed there?