Ég elda mat.

I cook food.

Breakdown of Ég elda mat.

• ég: I
• elda: to cook

Questions & Answers about Ég elda mat.

What is the function of Ég in the sentence, and why is it explicit?

Ég means I and serves as the subject of the sentence. Unlike pro-drop languages (e.g., Spanish), Icelandic usually requires the subject to be explicitly stated to clearly indicate who is performing the action.

How is the verb elda conjugated in this sentence?

In Ég elda mat., the verb elda is in the first person singular present tense. In this form, the verb appears in its base form without any additional ending. For contrast, in third person singular it would change to eldar (e.g., hann/hún eldar means “he/she cooks”).

What role does the noun mat play, and why doesn’t its form change?

Mat means food and functions as the direct object of the sentence. Although it is in the accusative case, many neuter nouns in Icelandic (like mat) have identical forms in both the nominative and accusative cases, so they do not show an overt change in form.

Why does the sentence follow a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order similar to English?

Icelandic typically uses a Subject-Verb-Object word order in simple declarative sentences, just like English. In Ég elda mat., the subject (Ég) comes first, followed by the verb (elda), and then the object (mat). This similarity can help English speakers learn basic sentence structure in Icelandic.

How would the conjugation of elda differ with other subjects or in different tenses?

For other subjects in the present tense, the forms change as follows:
• þú eldar (you cook)
• hann/hún eldar (he/she cooks)
• við eldum (we cook)
• þið eldið (you [plural] cook)
• þeir/þær elda (they cook)
In the past tense, you might see forms like ég eldaði for the first person singular. Checking an Icelandic conjugation chart is advisable, as some verbs may have irregularities.

Why is there no auxiliary verb in the sentence, unlike some English sentences?

In Icelandic, the simple present tense is typically formed by directly conjugating the main verb without the use of auxiliary verbs such as do or am/is/are. Thus, Ég elda mat. is complete and grammatically correct on its own.

How does one indicate definiteness with nouns like mat in Icelandic?

Using mat here expresses food in an indefinite or general sense. If you were referring to a specific, previously mentioned food, you would use the definite form, mátinn, which means “the food.” This rule helps clarify whether you’re talking about food in general or a specific set of food items.