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Breakdown of Veitingastaðurinn er opinn í dag.
vera
to be
í
to
opinn
open
dagur
the day
veitingastaðurinn
the restaurant
Questions & Answers about Veitingastaðurinn er opinn í dag.
What is the meaning and structure of veitingastaðurinn?
veitingastaðurinn is the definite form of veitingastaður, which means “restaurant.”
- veitinga- comes from veita (“to serve”)
- staður means “place”
- the suffix -inn marks the noun as definite: “the restaurant”
Why doesn’t Icelandic use a separate word for “the”?
Icelandic attaches the definite article as a suffix to nouns. Instead of saying “the restaurant”, you say veitingastaðurinn (“restaurant-the”).
What gender is veitingastaðurinn, and how do you know?
It’s masculine. You can tell because:
- The noun ends in -ur in its indefinite form (veitingastaður)
- The adjective opinn uses the masculine nominative singular ending -inn
Why is the adjective opinn not preceded by a separate article?
Adjectives agree with definite nouns by inflecting themselves, rather than by adding an article. Since veitingastaðurinn is definite, opinn takes the masculine nominative singular form to match it.
How do you decline opinn for different genders and numbers?
Masculine nominative singular: opinn
Feminine nominative singular: opin
Neuter nominative singular: opið
Plural (all genders) nominative: opnir
Example:
- “Barinn er opinn.” (masc. “The bar is open.”)
- “Kaffihúsið er opið.” (neut. “The café is open.”)
What tense and person is the verb er?
er is the present tense, third-person singular form of að vera (“to be”). Here it means “is.”
Why is í dag used instead of just dagur?
í dag means “today.”
- dagur alone is “day” (nominative singular).
- í
- accusative time expression (dag) specifies “on this day,” i.e. “today.”
Is the word order here typical in Icelandic?
Yes. The normal main-clause order is Subject–Verb–Adverbial:
- Veitingastaðurinn (subject)
- er (verb)
- opinn (predicate adjective)
- í dag (adverbial phrase)
Could you invert the sentence for emphasis?
Yes, you can front an adverbial for emphasis:
Í dag er veitingastaðurinn opinn.
This puts focus on “today.”
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