Language/Faroese/Grammar/Basic-Prepositions

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Faroese → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Basic Prepositions

Welcome to the lesson on Basic Prepositions in Faroese! Prepositions are essential building blocks of any language, as they help us articulate relationships between different elements in a sentence. In Faroese, just like in English, understanding prepositions will allow you to express time, place, and direction more effectively, enriching your communication skills. Today, we will explore common prepositions and their usage in everyday contexts, setting a strong foundation for your Faroese language journey.

In this lesson, we will cover:

• An overview of basic prepositions in Faroese

• Examples to illustrate their usage

• Practice exercises to solidify your understanding

Overview of Basic Prepositions

Prepositions in Faroese can indicate relationships of time, place, and direction. Here are some of the most commonly used prepositions:

• í (in)

• á (on)

• við (with)

• uttan (without)

• fyrir (for)

• frá (from)

• til (to)

Let’s dive deeper into these prepositions and see how they function within sentences.

Common Prepositions and Their Usage

Preposition: í (in)

The preposition í is used to indicate being inside something.

Here are examples of its usage:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg eri í húsinum	eɪ ɡ ˈɛrɪ i ˈhuːsɪnʊm	I am in the house
børnini eru í skúlunum	ˈbœrnɪnɪ ˈɛrʊ i ˈskuːlʊnʊm	The children are in the schools
bókin er í taskuni	ˈboʊkɪn ɛr i ˈtɑːsʊnɪ	The book is in the bag
tey eru í bátinum	teɪ ˈɛrʊ i ˈbɔːtɪnʊm	They are in the boat

Preposition: á (on)

The preposition á indicates a position on a surface.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
bókin liggur á borðinum	ˈboʊkɪn ˈlɪʁʊr ɔ ˈbɔːrðɪnʊm	The book is on the table
eg sitji á stólinum	eɪ ɡ ˈsɪtʲɪ ɔ ˈstoʊlɪnʊm	I am sitting on the chair
hundurin er á gøtuni	ˈhʊndʊrɪn ɛr ɔ ˈɡøːtʊnɪ	The dog is on the street
myndin er á vegginum	ˈmʏndɪn ɛr ɔ ˈvɛɡɪnʊm	The picture is on the wall

Preposition: við (with)

The preposition við is used to express companionship or association.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg eri við vinum mínum	eɪ ɡ ˈɛrɪ vɪð ˈvɪnʊm ˈmiːnʊm	I am with my friends
tey koma við foreldrum sínum	teɪ ˈkɔːmɐ vɪð ˈfɔːrɛldʊm ˈsiːnʊm	They come with their parents
eg arbeiði við einum stóri	eɪ ˈɑːrbɛɪ̯ vɪð ˈeɪnʊm ˈstoːrɪ	I work with a big company
tú kanst fara við mær	tuː ˈkɑːnst ˈfɑːrɐ vɪð ˈmɛːr	You can go with me

Preposition: uttan (without)

The preposition uttan indicates the absence of something.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg vil ikki fara uttan teg	eɪ ɡ vɪl ˈɪkɪ ˈfɑːrɐ ˈʊtˌtæn teɪ	I don’t want to go without you
tey kunnu ikki vera uttan mat	teɪ ˈkʊnʊ ˈɪkɪ ˈvɛrɐ ˈʊtˌtæn mɑːt	They cannot be without food
tú mást arbeiða uttan hjálp	tuː mɑːst ˈɑːrbɛɪ̯vɐ ˈʊtˌtæn ˈjɑːlp	You must work without help
vit kunnu ikki ferðast uttan pengar	vɪt ˈkʊnʊ ˈɪkɪ ˈfɛrðast ˈʊtˌtæn ˈpeŋɐr	We cannot travel without money

Preposition: fyri (for)

The preposition fyrir is used to indicate purpose or direction.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg keypti blóm fyri teg	eɪ ɡ ˈkeɪptɪ ˈblom ˈfɪrɪ teɪ	I bought flowers for you
tey arbeiða fyri einum góðum máli	teɪ ˈɑːrbɛɪ̯vɐ ˈfɪrɪ ˈeɪnʊm ˈɡoːðʊm ˈmɑːlɪ	They work for a good cause
tú mást gera hetta fyri okkum	tuː mɑːst ˈɡɛrɐ ˈhɛtːə ˈfɪrɪ ˈoʊkʊm	You must do this for us
vit skriva brøv fyri børnini	vɪt ˈskriːvɐ ˈbrøːv ˈfɪrɪ ˈbœrnɪnɪ	We write letters for the children

Preposition: frá (from)

The preposition frá indicates the origin or starting point.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg kem frá Føroyum	eɪ ɡ ˈkɛm frɑː ˈføːrʊm	I come from the Faroe Islands
tú fært hetta frá mær	tuː fɛrt ˈhɛtːa frɑː mɛːr	You get this from me
tey koma frá Danmark	teɪ ˈkɔːmɐ frɑː ˈdɑnˌmark	They come from Denmark
vit keyptu hesa frá einum handlar	vɪt ˈkeɪptʊ ˈhɛsə frɑː ˈeɪnʊm ˈhɑndlɪr	We bought this from a merchant

Preposition: til (to)

The preposition til is often used to indicate direction or destination.

Here are some examples:

Faroese	Pronunciation	English
eg fari til skúlans	eɪ ɡ ˈfɑːrɪ tɪl ˈskuːlans	I am going to the school
tú skalt senda bræv til mær	tuː skalt ˈsɛndɐ ˈbrɛːv tɪl mɛːr	You should send a letter to me
tey flúgva til Føroya	teɪ ˈflʊɡvɐ tɪl ˈføːrʊa	They fly to the Faroe Islands
vit koyra til býin	vɪt ˈkɔʊrɐ tɪl ˈbʏːɪn	We drive to the city

Practice Exercises

Now that you've learned about basic prepositions, it's time to practice! Below are ten exercises designed to help you apply what you’ve learned.

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct preposition (í, á, við, uttan, fyri, frá, til).

1. Eg eri ___ heiminum.

2. Tú sitji ___ borðinum.

3. Hon kemur ___ vinkonu sinni.

4. Vit skulu ferðast ___ bátinum.

5. Tey keyptu blóm ___ mammuni.

6. Eg kýri ___ arbeiðinum.

7. Tú kanst koma ___ mær.

8. Eg havi bókina ___ taskuni.

9. Vit skulu vera ___ skúlunum í dag.

10. Tey fara ___ Danmark.

Solutions to Exercise 1

1. í

2. á

3. við

4. í

5. fyri

6. til

7. við

8. í

9. í

10. til

Exercise 2: Translate the Sentences

Translate the following English sentences into Faroese using the appropriate prepositions.

1. I am in the school.

2. They are without money.

3. You bought flowers for me.

4. We are going to the city.

5. He is with his friends.

Solutions to Exercise 2

1. Eg eri í skúlans.

2. Tey eru uttan pengar.

3. Tú keypti blóm fyri meg.

4. Vit eru á veg til býin.

5. Hann er við vinum sínum.

Exercise 3: Choose the Correct Preposition

Choose the correct preposition from the options given in parentheses.

1. Eg kom ___ (frá/tal) Danmark.

2. Tú sitji ___ (á/í) stólinum.

3. Vit arbeiða ___ (við/uttan) hjálp.

4. Tey flúgva ___ (til/frá) Føroyar.

5. Eg keypti mat ___ (fyrir/til) okkum.

Solutions to Exercise 3

1. frá

2. á

3. við

4. til

5. fyri

Exercise 4: Create Sentences

Using the prepositions provided, create complete sentences in Faroese.

1. við - (friends)

2. uttan - (money)

3. í - (the house)

4. til - (the school)

5. frá - (the store)

Solutions to Exercise 4

1. Eg eri við vinum mínum.

2. Eg havi ikki pengar uttan mat.

3. Eg eri í húsinum.

4. Tú skalt fara til skúlans.

5. Vit keyptu hesa frá búðini.

Exercise 5: Match the Sentence

Match the Faroese sentences with their English translations.

1. Eg sitji á stólinum.

2. Tey koma frá Føroyum.

3. Tú keyptir blóm fyri tær.

4. Eg eri uttan hjálp.

5. Vit fara til Danmark.

| Faroese Sentence | English Translation |

|------------------|--------------------|

| a. I am without help. | 1. |

| b. They come from the Faroe Islands. | 2. |

| c. You bought flowers for yourself. | 3. |

| d. We are going to Denmark. | 4. |

| e. I am sitting on the chair. | 5. |

Solutions to Exercise 5

1 - e

2 - b

3 - c

4 - a

5 - d

Exercise 6: Sentence Transformation

Transform the following sentences by changing the prepositions as indicated.

1. I am in the house. (change to "on")

2. They are with their parents. (change to "without")

3. We are going to the school. (change to "from")

4. She comes from Denmark. (change to "to")

5. You bought flowers for me. (change to "without")

Solutions to Exercise 6

1. Eg eri á húsinum.

2. Tey eru uttan foreldrum sínum.

3. Vit fara frá skúlans.

4. Hon kemur til Danmark.

5. Tú keypti blóm uttan mær.

Exercise 7: True or False

Read the sentences and determine if they are true or false based on the use of prepositions.

1. Eg eri við stólinum. (True/False)

2. Tey koma til Danmark. (True/False)

3. Tú er í skúla. (True/False)

4. Eg keypti mat frá búðini. (True/False)

5. Vit sitja uttan húsunum. (True/False)

Solutions to Exercise 7

1. False (should be "á")

2. True

3. True

4. True

5. False (should be "í")

Exercise 8: Choose Your Own Adventure

Create a short story (3-5 sentences) using at least 5 different prepositions in Faroese.

Solutions to Exercise 8

(Students will create their own stories; no specific solutions provided.)

Exercise 9: Fill in the Prepositions

Fill in the following sentences with the correct prepositions.

1. Eg fari ___ arbeiðinum.

2. Tú sitji ___ mínum húsi.

3. Tey eru ___ skúlunum.

4. Vit keyptu mat ___ handlinum.

5. Hann er ___ vinum sínum.

Solutions to Exercise 9

1. til

2. í

3. í

4. í

5. við

Exercise 10: Preposition Hunt

Find and underline the prepositions in the following sentences.

1. Eg keypti blóm til mína mamma.

2. Tey sitja uttan hjálp í skúlunum.

3. Vit flúgva frá Føroyum til Danmark.

4. Tú ert við mínum vinum í býnum.

5. Hann kemur til okkum í dag.

Solutions to Exercise 10

1. til

2. uttan, í

3. frá, til

4. við, í

5. til, í

Congratulations on completing the lesson on basic prepositions in Faroese! With these foundational prepositions under your belt, you are one step closer to becoming conversational in Faroese. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be able to express yourself with even greater accuracy and confidence.

Table of Contents - Faroese Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Pronouns and Verb To Be

• Personal Pronouns
• Verb To Be

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-20
• Telling Time

  ---

Present Tense and Regular Verbs

• Present Tense
• Regular Verbs

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

  ---

Adjectives and Comparatives

• Basic Adjectives
• Comparatives

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Eating and Drinking

  ---

Possessives

• Possessive Adjectives
• Possessive Pronouns

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Vocabulary

  ---

Questions and Negation

• Question Words
• Negation

  ---

Hobbies and Interests

• Common Hobbies
• Discussing Interests

  ---

Prepositions

• Basic Prepositions
• Prepositional Phrases

  ---

Faroese Customs and Traditions

• Faroese Holidays
• Faroese Music and Dance

  ---

Weather and Seasons

• Weather Vocabulary
• Seasons

  ---

Past Tense

• Simple Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense

  ---

Faroese Literature and Folklore

• Faroese Literature
• Faroese Folklore

Sources

• Faroese Prepositions
• Faroese: A Language Course for Beginners - by risgrynsgröt ...

Other Lessons

• Verb To Be
• Questions
• Give your Opinion
• Present Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Future Tense
• Question Words
• Negation
• Possessive Pronouns
• How to Use Be

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