fá

Get (Fá)

Level 2

Ég fékk bréf. (I got a letter.) fá means get or receive, and the thing you get is in the accusative.

How It Works

The forms.

  • Present: ég fæ, þú færð, hún fær, við fáum, þið fáið, þau fá
  • Past: ég fékk, þú fékkst, hún fékk, við fengum, þau fengu
  • Supine: fengið, as in Hefurðu fengið svar? (The Supine)

With þú joined on, færð þú becomes færðu: Hvað færðu í afmælisgjöf?

Uses.

  • Receiving: Ég fékk bréf frá mömmu. Hún fékk nýja vinnu. The thing you get is in the accusative.
  • Catching an illness: Ég fékk kvef. (I caught a cold.)
  • Ordering and asking: Má ég fá kaffi? See Ordering and Asking for Things.
  • Having something to eat or drink, with sér: Ég ætla að fá mér kaffi. (I'm going to have a coffee.) The pronoun matches the subject: fá mér, fá þér, fá sér (sig/sér/sín).
  • Being allowed to, with að: Ég fékk að fara snemma. See Get To (fá að).

Examples (6)

  1. Ég fékk bréf frá mömmu.

    I got a letter from Mom.

    Word by Word: I got letter from mom.

  2. Hvað færðu í afmælisgjöf?

    What are you getting for your birthday?

    Word by Word: What get-you in birthday-gift?

  3. Hún fékk nýja vinnu.

    She got a new job.

    Word by Word: She got new work.

  4. Við fáum gesti í kvöld.

    We're having guests tonight.

    Word by Word: We get guests in evening.

  5. Ég ætla að fá mér kaffi.

    I'm going to have a coffee.

    Word by Word: I intend to get me coffee.

  6. Hefurðu fengið svar?

    Have you had an answer?

    Word by Word: Have-you gotten answer?

Common Mistakes

  • Making a regular past tense.

    Ég fáði pakka í gær.
    Ég fékk pakka í gær.

    fá is irregular. Its past is fékk, and the plural is fengum.

  • Building the perfect from the infinitive.

    Ég hef fáð svar.
    Ég hef fengið svar.

    The supine of fá is fengið.

  • Using hafa when ordering, as in English "Can I have...?".

    Má ég hafa kaffi?
    Má ég fá kaffi?

    Icelandic orders with fá, not hafa.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

fáLevel 2Get (Fá)

Learn This First

fá builds on má ég fá and the accusative.

Words in This Pattern

fáfæfærðfærfékk