hlakka til

Looking Forward (Hlakka Til)

Level 3

Ég hlakka til jólanna (I'm looking forward to Christmas). The person is a normal subject: ég, not mig or mér.

How It Works

Forms. hlakka follows the pattern of tala, and the a becomes ö before u: ég hlakka, þú hlakkar, hún hlakkar, við hlökkum, þið hlakkið, þau hlakka. Past: ég hlakkaði, við hlökkuðum. In a question, þú joins the verb: Hlakkarðu til?

What you look forward to.

  • til + genitive for a thing or an event: Ég hlakka til jólanna. Hún hlakkar til ferðarinnar.
  • til að + infinitive for an action: Við hlökkum til að sjá þig (see að + infinitive).
  • til on its own, when it is clear what you mean: Ég hlakka svo til! (I can't wait!)

A normal subject. Several verbs of feeling put the person in the dative or accusative, like mig langar and mér leiðist. hlakka is not one of them. You may hear mig hlakkar or mér hlakkar in speech, but standard Icelandic uses a nominative subject: ég hlakka, við hlökkum, Jón hlakkar. Málfarsbankinn advises against both oblique forms. Putting the person in the dative this way is related to þágufallssýki (dative sickness), which careful speech and writing avoid.

A verb that works the same way. kvíða (dread, feel anxious about) also takes a nominative subject: Ég kvíði prófinu (I'm dreading the exam).

Examples (6)

  1. Ég hlakka til jólanna.

    I'm looking forward to Christmas.

    Word by Word: I look-forward to the-Christmas(gen).

  2. Hlakkarðu til?

    Are you looking forward to it?

    Word by Word: Look-forward-you to?

  3. Við hlökkum til að sjá þig.

    We're looking forward to seeing you.

    Word by Word: We look-forward to to see you.

    hlökkum: the a changes to ö before the ending -um.

  4. Hún hlakkar til helgarinnar.

    She's looking forward to the weekend.

    Word by Word: She looks-forward to the-weekend(gen).

  5. Ég hlakkaði mikið til ferðarinnar.

    I was really looking forward to the trip.

    Word by Word: I looked-forward much to the-trip(gen).

  6. Krakkarnir hlakka svo til!

    The kids can't wait!

    Word by Word: The-kids look-forward so to!

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the person in the dative or accusative.

    Mér hlakkar til jólanna.
    Ég hlakka til jólanna.

    hlakka takes an ordinary nominative subject. mér hlakkar and mig hlakkar are heard in speech but are not standard.

  • Using the nominative or accusative after til.

    Ég hlakka til jólin.
    Ég hlakka til jólanna.

    til always takes the genitive. jólin is the nominative/accusative form; the genitive with the article is jólanna.

  • Leaving out að before a verb.

    Við hlökkum til sjá þig.
    Við hlökkum til að sjá þig.

    When you look forward to doing something, use til að + infinitive.

How It Connects

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

hlakka tilLevel 3Looking Forward (Hlakka Til)

Learn This First

hlakka til builds on til and oblique subjects.

Words in This Pattern

hlakkatiltil að