The purpose of this post is just to give you a basic idea of the use of prepositions in Icelandic. Prepositions are a tricky thing in English and even trickier in Icelandic, where they govern different cases. Let’s begin with the prepositions, which govern only one case and could actually be helpful to decide which case to use in a sentence:
Prepositions governing the accusative case:
- um – about
- (í) gegnum – through
- kringum – around
- umfram – in addition
- fyrir framan – in front of
- fyrir aftan – behind
- fyrir handan – beyond
- fyrir neðan – underneath, below
- fyrir ofan – above
- fyrir utan – apart from
Prepositions governing the dative case:
- að – towards, up to
- gagnvart – towards
- frá – from
- af – off
- hjá – besides, by, with
- úr – out of
- handa – for
- á móti – against
- undan – from under
- nálægt – near
- ásamt – along
Prepositions governing the genitive case:
- til – to
- án – without
- auk – in addition, apart from
- milli – between
- vegna – due to, because of
- handan – on the other side
- innan – inside
- utan – outside
- ofan – above
- neðan – below
Some prepositions can be governing either the accusative or the dative case depending on the presence or the lack of movement. We use the accusative if there is a motion/change implied and dative if it’s a static situation ( the same at the end as it was at the start ). One popular example to illustrate this, can be found on Wikipedia and in some textbooks:
Kötturinn skríður undir rúmið. (The cat crawls under the bed)
Kötturinn skríður undir rúminu. (The cat is crawling under the bed)
In the first situation the cat has been somewhere else , crawling from one location to another and ending up under the bed. This change is reflected by the use of the accusative case.
In the second situation the cat has been under the bed, crawling within it, so no change has happened – from the beginning to the very end the cat is under the bed. There is a motion, but there is no actual change of the location, so the dative case is used.
- í – in
Ég ætla í vinnunna. (I intend to go to work.)
Ég er í vinnunni. (I am at work.)
- á – on
Ég setti bókina á borðið. (I put the book on the table.)
Bókin er á borðinu. (The book is on the table)
- eftir – after/behind, along/by (thе use of this preposition is not so defined by the presence of motion/change and depends more on the context and which meaning of all is used.) The same goes for the prepositions við (against to/at,by/to,with/at) and fyrir (before/for/in the way(obstacle)/on behalf of/ago).
eftir+acc – after, by (creation)
eftir+dat – according to/along
á eftir – behind, after
Bókin er eftir vinsælan höfund. (The book is by a popular author.)
Þú ert á eftir mér í röðinni. ( You are after me in the queue .)
- undir – under
Ég setti skóna undir rúmið.( I put the shoes under the bed.)
Kötturinn liggur undir rúminu. (The cat lies under the bed.)
- yfir – over
Flugvélin flaug yfir sjóinn. (The airplabe flew over the sea.)
Málverkið hangir yfir sófanum. (The painting hangs over the sofa.)
- með – with – it governs the dative case if the people/objects/subjects are equal; if the accompanying element wants to be there; if it’s used to show work with an instrument:
Ég fór í bíó með vinum mínum í gær. (I went to the cinema with my friends yesterday.)
Ég skrifa með blýanti. (I write with a pen.)
It governs the accusative case if one of the subjects is in control:
Hún kom með hundinn sinn. (She came with her dog.)
Prepositions of time:
- í – for – governs the dative case
- fyrir – ago – governs the dative case
- eftir – after – governs the accusative case
- á – it governs the accusative if something happens on a certain date or time and dative if this thing happens always on this day:
Ég fer í bíó á sunnudagin. (I am going to the cinema this Sunday.)
Ég spila borðspil á sunnudögum. (I play boаrd games on Sundays.)
If the prepositions mentioned above refer to a place, then they would govern the respective cases:
- í – in/into – governs either the accusative or the dative case
- fyrir – in front of – governs the dative case
- eftir – behind/along – governs the dative case
The prepositions can also be part of phrases, which require the use of certain case. For example:
að hringja í + þf (to call someone)
að hugsa til + ef (to think about someone)
The prepositions are definitely not easy, but can be hopefully mastered with a lot of practice.