koma frá

Saying Where You Are from

Level 1

Say Ég kem frá + country. Frá puts the country in the dative, so it often changes its ending: Pólland → frá Póllandi.

How It Works

To say where you are from, use koma (to come) with frá (from): Ég kem frá Póllandi. You can also use vera: Ég er frá Póllandi. Both are very common.

Koma changes its vowel in the singular: ég kem, þú kemur, hún kemur, við komum, þið komið, þau koma. See present tense with a vowel change.

Frá takes the dative. The country name after it moves into the dative case. Learn each one with its form:

  • Many names in -land add -i: Ísland → frá Íslandi, Pólland → frá Póllandi, England → frá Englandi, Þýskaland → frá Þýskalandi.
  • Some masculine names change their ending: Spánn → frá Spáni, Noregur → frá Noregi.
  • Many feminine names end in -u: Ítalía → frá Ítalíu, Danmörk → frá Danmörku.
  • Some names look the same after frá: frá Kanada, frá Japan, frá Kína, frá Svíþjóð.

Asking. Use the question word hvaðan (from where): Hvaðan kemur þú? or Hvaðan ertu? Icelandic does not split it into where ... from. See hvar, hvert and hvaðan.

Examples (5)

  1. Hvaðan kemur þú?

    Where do you come from?

    Word by Word: From-where come you?

  2. Ég kem frá Póllandi.

    I come from Poland.

    Word by Word: I come from Poland(dative).

    Pólland becomes Póllandi after frá.

  3. Hún kemur frá Spáni.

    She comes from Spain.

    Word by Word: She comes from Spain(dative).

    Spánn becomes Spáni after frá.

  4. Við komum frá Bandaríkjunum.

    We come from the United States.

    Word by Word: We come from the-United-States(dative).

  5. Hvaðan ertu? – Ég er frá Kanada.

    Where are you from? – I'm from Canada.

    Word by Word: From-where are-you? – I am from Canada.

    Kanada keeps the same form after frá.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the country in its dictionary form after frá.

    Ég kem frá Pólland.
    Ég kem frá Póllandi.

    Frá always takes the dative. The dative of Pólland is Póllandi.

  • Splitting the question into where ... from, as in English.

    Hvar kemur þú frá?
    Hvaðan kemur þú?

    Hvar asks where something is. For where from, Icelandic has one word: hvaðan.

How It Connects

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

koma fráLevel 1Saying Where You Are from

Learn This First

Saying where you are from builds on hvaðan and frá.

Words in This Pattern

komakem