Maðurinn er heima og hann er að horfa á sjónvarpið.
The man is at home and he is watching television.
Breakdown of Maðurinn er heima og hann er að horfa á sjónvarpið.
vera
to be
og
and
hann
he
maðurinn
the man
heima
at home
að
to (infinitive marker)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
horfa
to watch
sjónvarpið
the television
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn er heima og hann er að horfa á sjónvarpið.
How do we form 'is watching' in this sentence?
We use the verb vera (to be) plus the word að and the infinitive (dictionary form) of the main verb. Here, hann er means 'he is', and að horfa means 'to watch'. Together, hann er að horfa translates to the continuous action 'he is watching'.
Why do we use heima here instead of heim for 'home'?
In Icelandic, heima is used when someone or something is already at a location, like resting at home in this sentence. You use heim when there is movement towards home, such as going or walking home.
Why is the word á included after horfa?
The verb horfa literally translates to 'to look'. To say you are watching or looking at something, you must use the preposition á. Therefore, horfa á means 'to look at' or 'to watch'.
Where is the word for 'the' in Maðurinn and sjónvarpið?
In Icelandic, 'the' is not a separate word that comes before the noun like in English. Instead, it is added to the end of the word as a suffix. Maður means 'man' and adding -inn makes it Maðurinn (the man). Similarly, sjónvarp is 'television' and adding -ið makes it sjónvarpið (the television).
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