má ég fá
Ordering and Asking for Things
To ask for something, say Má ég fá ...? (May I have ...?). To order, you can also say Ég ætla að fá ... (I'll have ...).
How It Works
Two everyday patterns.
- Má ég fá ...? (May I have ...?) uses mega and the verb fá (get): Má ég fá vatnsglas?
- Ég ætla að fá ... (I'll have ...) uses ætla að: Ég ætla að fá kaffi og kleinu. Waiters also ask Hvað ætlar þú að fá? (What will you have?).
The accusative. The thing you want is the object of fá, so it is in the accusative. Many words look the same as in the dictionary, like kaffi and vatn. Others change:
- kleina becomes kleinu
- poki (bag) becomes poka
- reikningurinn (the bill) becomes reikninginn
- matseðillinn (the menu) becomes matseðilinn
Politeness. There is no word-for-word "please" in these sentences (gerðu svo vel). In writing, vinsamlegast means please. In speech, the question form and a friendly takk (thanks) do that job. Ég vil kaffi (I want coffee) is grammatical but can sound blunt when you order. For an extra-polite request, use Gæti ég fengið ...? or Mætti ég fá ...? (gætirðu/mætti ég).
Examples (6)
- Má ég fá reikninginn?
Could I have the bill?
Word by Word: May I get the-bill?
- Má ég fá vatnsglas?
Could I have a glass of water?
Word by Word: May I get water-glass?
- Ég ætla að fá kaffi og kleinu.
I'll have a coffee and a kleina.
Word by Word: I intend to get coffee and kleina.
A kleina is a twisted Icelandic doughnut. kleina becomes kleinu in the accusative.
- Má ég fá matseðilinn, takk?
Could I have the menu, please?
Word by Word: May I get the-menu, thanks?
- Við ætlum að fá tvær samlokur.
We'll have two sandwiches.
Word by Word: We intend to get two sandwiches.
- Má ég fá poka?
Could I have a bag?
Word by Word: May I get bag?
poki becomes poka in the accusative.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the thing you ask for in the nominative.
Má ég fá reikningurinn?Má ég fá reikninginn?The object of fá is accusative: reikningurinn becomes reikninginn.
Adding að after má ég.
Má ég að fá vatn?Má ég fá vatn?mega takes fá directly, with no að.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Má ég fá builds on mega.
Related Patterns
- ætla aðGoing to (Ætla Að)
Ég ætla að fá ... is the other common way to order.
Level 1 - fáGet (Fá)
The verb fá (get) is at the heart of both patterns.
Level 2 - gerðu svo velPlease and Here You Are
Explains how Icelandic makes a request polite without a spoken word for please.
Level 1 - takkThanks (Takk)
The friendly word to add after your request.
Level 1 - gætirðu / mætti égPolite Requests (Gætirðu, Mætti Ég)
Extra-polite versions of the same request.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice má ég fá in Bubblegum
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