Word
Við stefnum að landamærunum í þrjá tíma.
Meaning
We head for the border for three hours.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Við stefnum að landamærunum í þrjá tíma.
við
we
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
þrír
three
tíminn
the time / the class (m) / the hour
Questions & Answers about Við stefnum að landamærunum í þrjá tíma.
Why do we use að here instead of til for heading to a destination?
The verb stefna (to head/aim) naturally pairs with the preposition að. Furthermore, að is used for moving towards a boundary or target like a border, whereas til usually implies traveling to a specific endpoint like a town or a person's house.
What is the base word for landamærunum and why does it end in -unum?
The base word is landamæri (border), which is treated as a plural noun in Icelandic. Because the preposition að requires the dative case, we use the definite dative plural ending -unum to mean "to the border".
Doesn't the preposition í usually mean "in"? Why does it mean "for" here?
While í means "in" for locations, it is the standard preposition to use for time duration in Icelandic. When expressing how long an ongoing action lasts, you use í followed by the accusative case.
Why is the number three written as þrjá instead of þrír?
Numbers from one to four change their endings to match the gender and case of the noun they describe. Because í for time duration forces the accusative case, and tími (hour) is a masculine word, we must use the masculine accusative form þrjá.