Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að fara til Akureyrar.
Why does the town name change to Akureyrar here?
This is because of the preposition til (to), which forces the noun that follows it into the genitive case. The dictionary form of the town is Akureyri, but its ending changes to -ar when it is in the genitive case.
Why do we need the word að before fara?
The word að acts like the word "to" does in English when connecting two verbs. Since ætla means "intend" or "plan", you need the infinitive marker að before the verb fara (go) to make the phrase "intend to go".
Could I just say Ég fer til Akureyrar instead of using ætla?
Yes, you could! Ég fer means "I go" or "I am going", which works fine. However, using ætla is the most natural and common way to talk about your future plans or trips in Icelandic.
Will I always use til when saying I am going "to" a place?
Not always. The preposition til is usually used for moving towards named geographic places, like countries, cities, and towns (such as til Akureyrar). For buildings or everyday places like a swimming pool, you will typically use other prepositions like í or á.