Breakdown of Ég ætla að baka fjórtán smákökur.
ég
I
að
to (infinitive marker)
ætla
to intend
baka
to bake
smákakan
the cookie
fjórtán
fourteen
Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að baka fjórtán smákökur.
Does the number fjórtán change its ending depending on the word it counts?
No. Unlike the numbers 1 through 4, the numbers 11 through 20 do not decline in Icelandic. They stay exactly the same no matter the gender or case of the noun. So fjórtán will always be fjórtán.
Why do we use ætla að here to say "I am going to"?
Icelandic doesn't have a dedicated future tense built into its verbs. To talk about something you intend to do or are going to do, you use the verb ætla (to intend) followed by að and the infinitive form of the main action verb, which here is baka (to bake).
What case is the word smákökur in?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the sentence, meaning it is the thing being baked. The number fjórtán simply counts the cookies, but the verb baka is what forces the word into the accusative case.
How is the word smákökur built?
It is a compound word made of smá (small) and kökur (cakes, plural of kaka). Put together, they literally mean "small cakes", which is the Icelandic word for cookies.
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