Breakdown of Ég ætla að keyra frá Reykjavík í dag.
ég
I
að
to (infinitive marker)
keyra
to drive
í dag
today
Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að keyra frá Reykjavík í dag.
Since the preposition "frá" forces the dative case, why doesn't "Reykjavík" change its ending?
While frá always triggers the dative case, the dative form of Reykjavík happens to be exactly the same as its basic dictionary form. Many place names in Icelandic, especially those ending in -vík (bay), don't change in the dative case.
Is there a future tense word for "will drive", or do I always have to say "intend to drive"?
Icelandic verbs don't have a specific future tense form. To say you "will" or "are going to" do something you have control over, you use ætla (to intend/plan) followed by að and the infinitive verb (here, keyra). So this sentence naturally translates to "I am going to drive" or "I will drive".
The lesson says "í" takes the dative case for static locations. Why isn't "dag" in the dative case here?
The rule about í taking the dative case mainly applies to physical locations, like being inside a building. However, í dag (today, literally "in day") is a set time expression, and time phrases using í almost always take the accusative case instead of the dative.