Breakdown of Kennarinn hefur ekki ferðast erlendis.
kennarinn
the teacher
ekki
not
hafa
to have
ferðast
to travel
erlendis
abroad
Questions & Answers about Kennarinn hefur ekki ferðast erlendis.
Why does ekki go right after hefur instead of at the end of the sentence?
In Icelandic present perfect sentences, the word ekki (not) sits right between the conjugated helper verb (hefur) and the main verb (ferðast). This matches the English order exactly: 'has not traveled'.
Could I put erlendis before the verb, like 'hefur ekki erlendis ferðast'?
Why does the main verb ferðast end in -st here?
Ferðast (to travel) is a middle voice verb, meaning it naturally has an -st ending in all its forms. In the present perfect, the main verb takes the supine form (the form used after hafa), and middle voice verbs simply keep their -st ending in this form.
Is erlendis related to the word land?
Yes! It comes from the adjective erlendur (foreign), which historically comes from meaning 'out of the country' (land). The -is ending is a common way to turn words into adverbs in Icelandic, giving us the meaning 'abroad'.
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