Questions & Answers about Mamma fer til Danmerkur.
Why is Denmark spelled Danmerkur instead of Danmörk?
This is because of the preposition til (to). In Icelandic, til always forces the noun that follows it into the genitive case. This changes the dictionary form Danmörk into the genitive destination form Danmerkur.
Why did the vowel change from ö in Danmörk to e in Danmerkur?
When Icelandic words change their case endings, the vowels inside the word often shift as well. The shift from ö to e before an -ur ending is a normal pattern, so do not be surprised when the inside of a word changes along with its ending!
Does fer mean 'goes' or 'is going'?
It means both! Icelandic does not have a separate continuous 'is doing' tense like English does. Depending on what makes sense in the context, fer (from the verb fara) translates smoothly as 'goes', 'is going', or even 'will go'.
Is it normal to just say mamma without 'my' or 'the'?
Yes! Just like in English, if you are talking about your own mother, you can use mamma all by itself without needing to add a possessive word like 'my'.