Breakdown of Ég hitti foreldra þína á veitingastaðnum.
ég
I
á
at
þinn
your
veitingastaður
the restaurant
hitta
to meet
foreldri
the parent
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Questions & Answers about Ég hitti foreldra þína á veitingastaðnum.
What is the function and meaning of Ég in this sentence?
Ég means “I.” It’s the first-person singular pronoun serving as the subject of the sentence.
What does hitti mean, and what tense and person does it show?
hitti is the past-tense form of the verb hitta (to meet). It’s the past indicative singular. Note that in Icelandic the past tense does not distinguish between first, second, and third person singular—hitti covers all three, so you rely on Ég (or another pronoun) for clarity.
Why is it foreldra and not foreldrar?
foreldrar is the nominative plural (“parents” as a subject). Here it’s the direct object of hitti, so it must take the accusative plural form foreldra.
Why does the possessive pronoun þína come after foreldra, and why isn’t it þínir?
Because the noun is definite (“your parents”), the possessive pronoun follows it. In addition, it must agree in case, number, and gender: foreldra is accusative plural, so the pronoun is þína (acc. pl.), not þínir (nom. pl.).
Why is á veitingastaðnum used instead of á veitingastað or another form?
The preposition á takes the dative when indicating location. veitingastaður (restaurant) is a masculine noun; its dative singular is veitingastað + -num for definiteness, giving veitingastaðnum (“at the restaurant”). If you meant “at a restaurant” (indefinite), you’d say á veitingastað (dative singular without the definite ending).
Can you drop the subject pronoun Ég and simply say Hitti foreldra þína á veitingastaðnum?
Generally no. Since hitti doesn’t mark person, omitting Ég makes it unclear whether it’s “I,” “you,” or “he/she” who did the meeting. Subject pronouns are normally kept for clarity in past tense.
Could I front another element in the sentence, for example: Foreldra þína hitti ég á veitingastaðnum?
Yes, Icelandic allows topicalization. You can place Foreldra þína first, but the finite verb still must be in second position (V2 rule). That word order shifts emphasis onto “your parents.”
How do you pronounce veitingastaðnum?
Roughly: VAY-ting-ah-STATH-num. Breakdown:
• vei → “vay”
• tinga → “ting-ah”
• stað → “stath” (the ð is the voiced “th” in “this”)
• -num → “num” (the u is like the u in “put”)