Learn Icelandic: Hlakkar þú til heimsóknarinnar á morgun? - Are you looking forward to the visit tomorrow?

Hlakkar þú til heimsóknarinnar á morgun?

Are you looking forward to the visit tomorrow?

Breakdown of Hlakkar þú til heimsóknarinnar á morgun?

Questions & Answers about Hlakkar þú til heimsóknarinnar á morgun?

Why is heimsóknarinnar so long, and what case is it in?

It is in the genitive case because the preposition til in the phrase hlakka til forces the following noun into the genitive. The base word is the feminine noun heimsókn (visit). Its genitive form is heimsóknar, and adding the definite article -innar gives us heimsóknarinnar (the visit).

I have heard native speakers use a dative subject with this verb. Why is it þú here?

You will definitely hear native speakers use dative pronouns in casual speech (like mér hlakkar or þér hlakkar)! However, standard Icelandic requires a normal nominative subject with hlakka. That is why we use the nominative þú (you) here, making it Hlakkar þú.

Does til mean "look forward" here?

Not on its own. The preposition til usually means "to" or "towards". But here it is part of the fixed verb phrase hlakka til, which together means "to look forward to". When you learn prepositional verbs, it is best to memorize the verb, its preposition, and the case it takes all at once.

Why does the sentence start with the verb Hlakkar?