Delegating Tasks with "Fá til að"
To express getting or persuading someone to do a task, Icelandic uses the verb fá (to get).
The structure is: fá + person (in the accusative case) + til að + infinitive verb.
When asking for help using geta (can), remember that it forces the following verb into the supine form, so fá becomes fengið.
| Can you get the assistant to print the budget? | Geturðu fengið aðstoðarmanninn til að prenta fjárhagsáætlunina? |
Helping verbs like myndi (would), ætla (to intend), and þurfa (to need) take the infinitive (fá or að fá).
| I would get the assistant to explain the workflow. | Ég myndi fá aðstoðarmanninn til að útskýra verkferlið. |
Notice how the person receiving the task remains in the accusative case, whether it is a noun or a pronoun like mig (me).
| The team intends to get me to extend the deadline. | Teymið ætlar að fá mig til að lengja skilafrestinn. |
| We need to get the manager to coordinate the overview. | Við þurfum að fá stjórnandann til að samræma yfirlitið. |
Convincing the Team
When you need to directly "convince" someone, use the verb sannfæra. The person being convinced takes the accusative case. To specify what you are convincing them about, use the preposition um, which also takes an accusative object.
| We need to convince the boss about the budget. | Við þurfum að sannfæra stjórann um fjárhagsáætlunina. |
Expressing Purpose
You can use til að on its own to mean "in order to." This helps explain the goal behind a specific workflow or task.
| She would prioritize the tasks to increase the efficiency. | Hún myndi forgangsraða verkefnunum til að auka skilvirknina. |
