Breakdown of Hvaða föt ertu að fara að hengja upp úti?
vera
to be
þú
you
úti
outside
fara
to go
að
to (infinitive marker)
fötin
the clothes
hvaða
which, what
hengja upp
to hang up
Questions & Answers about Hvaða föt ertu að fara að hengja upp úti?
Why are there two instances of að in ertu að fara að hengja?
This uses the immediate future construction. The first part is the continuous vera að fara (to be going), which requires an að before the infinitive fara. Then you need a second að to introduce the main action verb hengja (to hang).
Since hanging clothes involves moving them, why do we use the stationary úti instead of the directional út?
While taking clothes outside is directional, the specific action of hanging them up (hengja upp) takes place in a fixed location. If you drop upp, you could say hengja fötin út (hang the clothes out). But with upp, the focus is on the location where they will hang, so we use the stationary úti.
What case is föt in here, and does hvaða change to match its plural form?
Föt is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of hengja upp. The interrogative word hvaða (which/what) is entirely indeclinable in Icelandic, so it never changes form no matter the gender, number, or case of the noun it modifies.
How does word order work with the phrasal verb hengja upp if I am just making a normal statement?
In a simple declarative sentence with a conjugated verb, the object usually goes between the verb and the particle, like Ég hengi fötin upp. But here, because hengja is part of an infinitive phrase, the particle upp stays attached directly after the verb.
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