Breakdown of Ég fer alltaf í ræktina á fimmtudögum.
ég
I
alltaf
always
fara
to go
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
ræktin
the gym
fimmtudagur
Thursday
Questions & Answers about Ég fer alltaf í ræktina á fimmtudögum.
Why is it á fimmtudögum (dative plural) instead of á fimmtudag (accusative singular)?
This is the core rule of your current lesson! When you talk about something you do as a habit or on a regular basis (like going to the gym every Thursday), you use á plus the dative plural form of the day. If you were only going on one specific upcoming Thursday, you would use á plus the accusative singular: á fimmtudag.
Why is the word for gym written as ræktina here?
ræktina is the accusative form of ræktin (the gym). In Icelandic, the word for 'the' attaches to the end of the noun. It changes to its accusative form here because of the preposition í.
How do we know the preposition í requires the accusative case in this sentence?
Prepositions like í (in/to) and á (on/to) take the accusative case when they describe motion toward a destination. Since you are going to the gym (fer... í), it triggers the accusative. If you were already working out inside the gym, you would use the dative case instead to show a fixed location.
Why is the word order fer alltaf instead of the English order 'always go'?
Icelandic strictly follows the verb-second (V2) rule in standard sentences. The main verb (fer) must be the second piece of information, right after the subject (Ég). Because of this, adverbs like alltaf (always) have to wait their turn and usually tuck in right after the verb.
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