Breakdown of Hver er útivistartíminn þinn, og færð þú að vaka um helgina?
vera
to be
og
and
þú
you
hver
who / what / which (one)
að
to (infinitive marker)
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
fá
to get
um
over / during (a period of time)
helgin
the weekend
vaka
to stay up
útivistartíminn
the curfew
Questions & Answers about Hver er útivistartíminn þinn, og færð þú að vaka um helgina?
How does færð þú að vaka translate to "do you get to stay up"?
The verb fá literally means "to get" or "to receive." When you use fá + að + an infinitive verb (like vaka, meaning "to stay awake"), it acts as an auxiliary verb meaning "to be allowed to" or "to get to" do something. So færð þú að vaka translates perfectly to "are you allowed to stay up?" or "do you get to stay up?".
Why does the sentence use hver (who/which) instead of hvað (what) for "What is your curfew"?
In Icelandic, when asking "what is..." followed by a specific noun, you must match the question word to the gender of that noun. The base word for time, tími, is masculine, so we use the masculine pronoun hver. If you used hvað, it would sound like you are asking for a definition of the concept of a curfew, rather than asking what the listener's specific curfew is.
How is the word útivistartíminn built?
It is a compound word made of útivist (outdoor life or being outside) and tíminn (the time, with the definite article attached). They are joined by -ar-, which is the genitive (possessive) ending for útivist. Literally, it means "the outside-time", which is the standard Icelandic word for a curfew.
Why do we use the preposition um in um helgina?
The preposition um has several meanings, but when talking about weekends or certain holidays, it is the standard word for "during" or "over". It always triggers the accusative case here, which is why helgin (the weekend) changes to helgina.
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