Breakdown of Maðurinn ætlar að fara í fríið.
maðurinn
the man
fara
to go
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
ætla
to intend
fríið
the holiday
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn ætlar að fara í fríið.
How does the "going to go" structure work in ætlar að fara?
The verb ætla means "to intend" or "to plan". To express the future idea of "going to do something", you conjugate ætla to match the subject (here, Maðurinn ætlar), and then add að plus the infinitive verb (here, fara). Literally, it translates to "The man intends to go".
Why doesn't the sentence use a word for "is" before ætlar?
In English, we say "is going to", which uses the verb "to be" alongside "going". However, the Icelandic verb ætla carries the full meaning on its own. You do not need to add the Icelandic word for "is" (er); saying Maðurinn ætlar completely covers "The man is going to".
Why is the word for "the" attached to the end of Maðurinn and fríið?
As a quick reminder, in Icelandic, the definite article ("the") is attached to the end of the noun rather than being a separate word before it. Maður means "a man" and adding -inn makes it Maðurinn ("the man"). Similarly, frí means "a holiday" and adding the neuter ending -ið makes it fríið ("the holiday").
Why do we use the preposition í here when the English translation says "on"?
Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word between languages. While in English you go "on" a holiday, in Icelandic you use í to express going "into" a holiday or vacation.
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