Barnið fær að leika sér úti ef veðrið er gott.

The child gets to play outside if the weather is good.

Breakdown of Barnið fær að leika sér úti ef veðrið er gott.

• vera: to be
• barnið: the child
• veðrið: the weather
• gott: good

Questions & Answers about Barnið fær að leika sér úti ef veðrið er gott.

Why is it barnið and not barn?

Barn means child in the indefinite sense, while barnið means the child.

The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually adds the as a suffix instead of using a separate word.

So:

• barn = a child / child
• barnið = the child

Also, barn is a neuter noun, which matters for agreement elsewhere in the sentence.

Why is it fær? What is the dictionary form?

The dictionary form is fá, which often means to get, to receive, or in some contexts to be allowed to.

Fær is the 3rd person singular present tense form, used here because the subject is barnið = the child.

A few useful forms are:

• ég fæ = I get / I am allowed to
• þú færð = you get / you are allowed to
• hann/hún/það fær = he/she/it gets / is allowed to

So barnið fær means the child gets / is allowed to.

Does fær að mean literally gets to?