fá að

Get to (Fá Að)

Level 4

Ég fékk að fara snemma. (I was allowed to leave early.)

How It Works

Forms. fá is irregular: present fæ, færð, fær, fáum, fáið, fá; past fékk, fengum; supine fengið. The infinitive after að never changes.

Permission. Ég fékk að fara snemma. (I was allowed to leave early.) mega also talks about permission: Ég má fara snemma. fá að adds that someone gave you the permission or the chance.

A chance. Ég fékk loksins að sjá norðurljósin. (I finally got to see the northern lights.)

Polite requests. fá að makes a request softer, often after má ég or gæti ég:

  • Má ég fá að sjá? (May I see?)
  • Gæti ég fengið að tala við Önnu? (Could I speak to Anna?)
  • Fæ ég að prófa? (Can I try?)

Not "arrive". English get to can also mean arrive. That is komast: Ég komst til Reykjavíkur klukkan fimm.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég fékk að fara snemma.

    I was allowed to leave early.

    Word by Word: I got to go early.

  2. Má ég fá að sjá?

    May I see?

    Word by Word: May I get to see?

  3. Börnin fá að vaka lengur um helgar.

    The children get to stay up later at weekends.

    Word by Word: The children get to stay-awake longer at weekends.

  4. Gæti ég fengið að tala við Önnu?

    Could I speak to Anna?

    Word by Word: Could I get to talk with Anna?

    A polite request, for example on the phone.

  5. Ég fékk loksins að sjá norðurljósin.

    I finally got to see the northern lights.

    Word by Word: I got finally to see the northern-lights.

  6. Hún fékk ekki að koma með.

    She wasn't allowed to come along.

    Word by Word: She got not to come with.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out að.

    Ég fékk fara snemma.
    Ég fékk að fara snemma.

    In this meaning fá needs að before the infinitive.

  • Using fá for English get to in the sense of arriving.

    Ég fékk til Reykjavíkur klukkan fimm.
    Ég komst til Reykjavíkur klukkan fimm.

    fá means get or receive, and it is not used for arriving. To say that you got somewhere, use komast.

How It Connects

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

fá aðLevel 4Get to (Fá Að)

Learn This First

fá að builds on fá and að + infinitive.

Words in This Pattern

fáfæfékkað