ætla

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Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse ætla, from Proto-Germanic *ahtalōną (to strive, think), from Proto-Indo-European *ok- (to think, intend, purpose). Landt 1800[1] mentions it as typical Faroese in contrast to Danish tænke, slutte. Cognate with Swedish ättla.

Pronunciation

Verb

ætla (third person singular past indicative ætlaði, supine ætlað)

  1. to plan, to intend
  2. to think

Conjugation

Conjugation of ætla (group v-30)
infinitive ætla
supine ætlað
participle (a6)1 ætlandi ætlaður
present past
first singular ætli ætlaði
second singular ætlar ætlaði
third singular ætlar ætlaði
plural ætla ætlaðu
imperative
singular ætla!
plural ætlið!
1Only the past participle being declined.

References

  1. ^ Jørgen Landt: Forsøg til en Beskrivelse over Færøerne. Copenhagen 1800, reprinted 1965. (p. 249)

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse ætla, from Proto-Germanic *ahtalōną (to strive, think), from Proto-Indo-European *ok- (to think, intend, purpose). Cognate with Swedish ättla, Old Danish ætle.

Pronunciation

Verb

ætla (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative ætlaði, supine ætlað)

  1. to intend, to plan, to mean to, be going to
    Ég ætlaði ekki að særa þig.
    I didn't mean to hurt you.
    Hún ætlaði alltaf að passa upp á hann.
    She was always going to keep an eye on him.
    Hættu þessu, asninn þinn! Ég ætlaði að sitja þarna!
    Stop that, you idiot! I was going to sit there!
  2. to intend to go
    Ég ætla heim!
    I'm going home!
  3. (of inanimate things, happenings, etc. or impersonal) to be going to, seem to be going to (indicating a likely course of events)
    það ætlar að rigna
    it looks like it’s going to rain
  4. to think, to believe, suppose, be of the opinion (that)
    Farið er að skýja, og ætla ég að fljótlega byrji að rigna.
    It is getting cloudy, and I think it will soon start raining.
  5. (ditransitive with dative and accusative) to believe or suppose (something) (of someone) impute or attribute (something) (to someone)
    Ætlaðu mér ekki slíka heimsku.
    Don’t think I’m that stupid.
    (literally, “Don’t suppose such stupidity of me.”)
  6. (ditransitive with dative and accusative) to intend (something) (for someone)
    Hann ætlaði henni að annað hlutverk.
    He intended another role for her.
    Fjölskylda hans ætlaði honum að leggja stund á lögfræði.
    His family intended for him to study law.
  7. (impersonal, used in the present subjunctive with a subclause, also in the subjunctive) to wonder, to suppose
    Hvað ætli forsetinn sé að gera núna?
    I wonder what the president is doing now.
    Átt þú ekki að vera í skólanum?Ætli það ekki.
    Aren't you supposed to be at school? — I suppose so.

Usage notes

  • The verb ætla is an auxiliary verb much used in Icelandic.
    Ég ætla að fara í bíó.
    I am going (I intend to go) to the cinema.
  • Also used to ask for something in stores or restaurants.
    Ég ætla að fá eina kók.
    I'll have one Coke. (I intend to have one Coke.)

Inflection

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also