Ég heng sundfötin upp á svalirnar til að þorna.

I hang the swimwear out on the balcony to dry.

Breakdown of Ég heng sundfötin upp á svalirnar til að þorna.

• ég: I
• til að: to
• þorna: to dry
• hengja: to hang

Questions & Answers about Ég heng sundfötin upp á svalirnar til að þorna.

What verb is heng from, and why is it heng after ég?

It comes from the infinitive að hengja, meaning to hang or to hang up something.

Ég heng is the 1st person singular present tense: I hang. In this verb, the ég form is heng, not hengja. So:

• að hengja = to hang something
• ég heng = I hang

What is the difference between hengja and hanga?

This is a very common question.

• að hengja = to hang something up; it is transitive, so it takes an object
• að hanga = to hang; it is intransitive, so the thing is already hanging

So:

• Ég heng sundfötin upp = I hang the swimwear up
• Sundfötin hanga á svölunum = The swimwear is hanging on the balcony

Why is sundfötin plural?

Because sundföt is normally a plural noun in Icelandic. It literally means something like swimming clothes.

So even when English might say a swimsuit or swimwear, Icelandic often uses sundföt in the plural.

The ending -in is the definite article attached to the noun, so:

• sundföt = swimwear / swimsuit
• sundfötin = the swimwear / the swimsuit