Breakdown of Núna göngum við á bókasafnið.
við
we
núna
now
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
ganga
to walk
bókasafnið
the library
Questions & Answers about Núna göngum við á bókasafnið.
Why is the order göngum við instead of við göngum?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action! In Icelandic, the main verb almost always has to be the second piece of information in a sentence. Because we started with the time word núna (now), the verb göngum (walk) must come right after it. The subject við (we) gets pushed to the third spot.
Does göngum mean 'walk' or 'are walking'?
It means both! Icelandic doesn't have a separate continuous verb tense like English does. The present tense göngum translates to either 'we walk' or 'we are walking'. The word núna makes it clear this is an ongoing action happening right now.
Why do we use the preposition á instead of til for going 'to' the library?
While til does mean 'to', Icelandic often uses á (which normally means 'on') when talking about going to certain public places, institutions, or events. A library (bókasafn) is one of these specific places where you must use á.
Where is the word for 'the' in bókasafnið?
In Icelandic, 'the' isn't a separate word. Instead, it gets added to the end of the noun. The base word is bókasafn (a library). Because it is a neuter noun, we add the ending -ið to make it bókasafnið (the library).
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