í

In and into (Í)

Level 1

í means in. Being somewhere takes the dative: í skólanum (at school). Moving into a place takes the accusative: í skólann (to school).

How It Works

In a place: dative. When something is inside a place and stays there, í takes the dative:

  • Ég bý í Reykjavík. (I live in Reykjavík.)
  • Síminn er í töskunni. (The phone is in the bag.)
  • Hún er í vinnunni. (She is at work.)

Into a place: accusative. When something moves into a place, í takes the accusative:

  • Ég fer í skólann. (I am going to school.)
  • Settu mjólkina í ísskápinn. (Put the milk in the fridge.)

Compare í skólanum (at school) with í skólann (to school). Only the ending changes, but the meaning changes too.

Wearing clothes. í + dative also means wearing: Ég er í peysu. (I am wearing a sweater.)

Activities. Many activities take fara í + accusative: fara í sund (go swimming), fara í bíó (go to the movies), fara í sturtu (take a shower).

í or á? Some places take á instead: á Íslandi, á kaffihúsi. Learn the preposition together with the place name. See á Íslandi/í Reykjavík. Time words such as í dag (today) and í kvöld (tonight) are best learned as set phrases; see í gær/í dag/á morgun.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég bý í Reykjavík.

    I live in Reykjavík.

    Word by Word: I live in Reykjavík.

    Reykjavík looks the same in the dative.

  2. Síminn er í töskunni.

    The phone is in the bag.

    Word by Word: Phone-the is in bag-the.

    töskunni is dative: the phone is already there.

  3. Ég fer í skólann.

    I am going to school.

    Word by Word: I go into school-the.

    skólann is accusative because there is movement.

  4. Settu mjólkina í ísskápinn.

    Put the milk in the fridge.

    Word by Word: Put-you milk-the into fridge-the.

    ísskápinn is accusative: the milk moves into the fridge.

  5. Ég er í peysu.

    I am wearing a sweater.

    Word by Word: I am in sweater.

    í + dative also means wearing.

  6. Við förum í sund á morgun.

    We are going swimming tomorrow.

    Word by Word: We go into swimming on morrow.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dative when something moves into a place.

    Ég fer í skólanum.
    Ég fer í skólann.

    With movement toward a place, í takes the accusative: skólann. The dative skólanum is for being there.

  • Using the accusative for being somewhere.

    Hún er í vinnuna.
    Hún er í vinnunni.

    vera (to be) shows no movement, so í takes the dative: vinnunni.

How It Connects

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

íLevel 1In and into (Í)

Learn This First

í builds on the four cases.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern