My name is, and I am from
After meeting somebody and saying hello for the first time, it is very common to ask them their name and where they are from.
My Name Is
In Icelandic, the most common way to tell somebody your name is to use the verb að heita. English is a bit strange in the because it does not have a verb that translates directly to að heita. Instead, awkward phrases such as My name is... or I am called... fill in this gap. In Icelandic, you can simply use the verb.
| Pres. heita | Sing. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st. | heiti | heitum |
| 2nd. | heitir | heitið |
| 3rd. | heitir | heita |
Example 1: Ég heiti Jón. - (My name is Jón.)
Example 2: Við heitum Ása og Þór. - (We are called Ása and Þór.)
Example 3: Hann heitir Sigurður. - (His name is Sigurður.)
Example 4: Hvað heitirðu? - (What is your name?)
Example 5: Hvað heitið þið? - (What are y'all's names?)
Conversation:
Jón: Góðan dag. - (Good day.)
Ása: Daginn. - (Good day.)
Jón: Ég heiti Jón. Hvað heitirðu? - (My name is Jón. What's your name?)
Ása: Ég heiti Ása. - (My name is Asa.)
I Am From
To say where you are from, use the preposition frá.
Prepositions (words that represent relationships, usually temporal and spacial) do not themselves inflect, but they do control cases, much like verbs. Frá always wants its object to be in the dative case, so any object following it needs to be in the dative case. Since the country, place, or city that you are from will be the object of frá, that is what needs to be in the dative case.
Below, see a chart of some of the common countries from which someone learning Icelandic could be from. The chart shows the nominative and dative versions of the country name.
| Nom. | Dat. | |
|---|---|---|
| Iceland | Ísland | Íslandi |
| England | England | Englandi |
| The United States | Bandaríkin | Bandaríkjunum |
| Norway | Noregur | Noregi |
| Sweden | Svíþjóð | Svíþjóð |
| Canada | Kanada | Kanada |
| France | Frakkland | Frakklandi |
Example 1: Hún er frá Svíðþjóð. - (She is from Sweden.)
Example 2: Þær eru frá Englandi og Noregi. - (They are from England and Norway.)
Example 3: Hann er frá Íslandi. - (He is from Iceland.)
Example: 4: Ég er frá Bandaríkjunum. - (I am from the United States.)
To ask where somebody is from, use the interrogative hvaðan and the verb að vera. Hvaðan has the same meaning as from where or whence in English. Since the from meaning is already encoded in this word, the preposition frá is never used alongside it.
Question 1: Hvaðan ertu? - (Where are you from?)
Answer 1: Ég er frá Bandaríkjunum. - (We are from the United States.)
Question 2: Hvaðan ertu? - (Where are you from?)
Answer 2: Ég er frá Noregi. - (I am from Norway.)
Question 3: Hvaðan eruð þið? - (Where are y'all from?)
Answer 3: Við erum frá Englandi. - (We are from England.)
Now I Know:
- how to tell somebody my name
- how to tell somebody where I am from
- how to ask somebody their name
- how to ask somebody where they are from