Breakdown of Hún ætlar að grafa í moldinni áður en það byrjar að rigna.
hún
she
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
ætla
to intend
byrja
to start
rigna
to rain
áður en
before
grafa
to dig
moldin
the soil
Questions & Answers about Hún ætlar að grafa í moldinni áður en það byrjar að rigna.
Why is í followed by the dative form moldinni here?
The preposition í (in/into) takes the dative case when it describes an action happening within a specific location. Because she is digging around inside the soil, we use the dative. If the action involved moving from outside to inside a new space, í would take the accusative.
Why do we use áður en instead of just áður for "before"?
You need the compound áður en when "before" links to a full clause containing a new subject and verb (here, það byrjar að rigna). If you were just saying "earlier" or "previously" as a standalone adverb, you would use áður by itself.
Is ætlar að the standard way to talk about the future?
Yes! The verb ætla literally means "to intend" or "to plan." Because Icelandic doesn't have a dedicated future tense, using ætla að plus an infinitive (like grafa) is the most common way to say that someone "is going to" do something.
Why is there a það in það byrjar að rigna?
Just like in English, Icelandic uses a "dummy" subject for weather. Since no actual person or object is doing the raining, we use það (it) to fill the mandatory subject slot in the sentence.
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