The Preposition "til"
In Icelandic, when you travel "to" a destination or go "to" a person, you use the preposition til.
The most important rule for til is that it always forces the noun that follows it into the genitive case.
Traveling to Places
When traveling to countries or cities, the noun changes to its genitive form. The exact endings vary depending on the noun's gender and original ending. For example, Spánn (Spain) becomes Spánar, Noregur (Norway) becomes Noregs, and Danmörk (Denmark) becomes Danmerkur.
To say you are going "abroad," Icelandic uses the plural noun útlönd (foreign countries). After til, it takes the genitive form útlanda:
The same rule applies to local towns and cities, such as Akureyri (genitive: Akureyrar) and Keflavík (genitive: Keflavíkur):
Visiting People
You also use til when going to see a person. This is the standard way to say you are going "to someone's house" or paying them a visit.
Just like places, people's names and titles must take the genitive case. Notice how they change:
- Jón becomes Jóns
- María becomes Maríu
- Anna becomes Önnu
Family members like afi (grandpa) and amma (grandma) follow similar patterns, becoming afa and ömmu in the genitive:
Finally, when you go to a specific professional, like "the doctor" (læknirinn), both the noun and its attached definite article take the genitive form (læknisins):
