Breakdown of Við fögnum sjálfstæðinu í júní.
við
we
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
júní
June
sjálfstæðið
the independence
fagna
to celebrate
Questions & Answers about Við fögnum sjálfstæðinu í júní.
Why do we use í for "in June"?
Just like in English, Icelandic uses the preposition í (in) when talking about things happening in a specific month. You will use í for all twelve months of the year, such as í janúar or í ágúst.
Why isn't the month júní capitalized?
Unlike in English, months of the year (as well as days of the week and seasons) are never capitalized in Icelandic unless they are the very first word of a sentence.
Why does the word for independence end in -nu (sjálfstæðinu)?
The verb fagna (to celebrate) forces its object into the dative case. The base word is sjálfstæði (a neuter noun). To say "the independence" in the dative case, we must add the neuter dative definite suffix -nu.
Why is there an ö in fögnum if the dictionary form of the verb is fagna?
This is a great example of the U-shift rule. When we conjugate fagna for "we" (við), the verb ending is -um. The "u" in the ending acts like a magnet, reaching back and changing the "a" in the root word to an ö, making it fögnum.
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