Ég er á veitingastað.

I am at a restaurant.

Breakdown of Ég er á veitingastað.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• á: at
• veitingastaður: the restaurant

Questions & Answers about Ég er á veitingastað.

Why is the preposition á used here instead of í?

In Icelandic, á is used with many public or open “activity” places (restaurants, banks, hotels, cafés, clubs), whereas í is used for enclosed or defined spaces (houses, rooms, countries, boxes). So you say á veitingastað (“at a restaurant”) but í hús (“in a house”) or í stofu (“in a living room”).

What case is veitingastaður in when it becomes veitingastað, and why?

The preposition á takes the dative case when indicating location. Veitingastaður (nominative) is a masculine noun ending in -ur. In the dative singular, it drops -ur, giving veitingastað.

How do I say “at the restaurant” (definite) instead of “at a restaurant”?

To make a noun definite in Icelandic, you add a suffix. In the dative singular, veitingastaður becomes veitingastaðnum. So:

• á veitingastað = “at a restaurant” (indefinite)
• á veitingastaðnum = “at the restaurant” (definite)

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” before veitingastað?

Icelandic does not use separate articles like “a”; indefiniteness is unmarked. Definiteness is shown by adding an ending to the noun (e.g. -inn, -ið, -nir, -nar, etc.). In á veitingastað, the noun is indefinite, so it has no article or suffix.

How do I pronounce Ég er á veitingastað?

A rough English approximation:

• Ég – “yehg” (short e, soft g)
• er – like English “air”
• á – like “ow” in “cow,” but held longer
• vei – “vay”
• tinga – “ting-uh”
• stað – “sta-oth,” where ð is the voiced “th” in “this.”

Put together: YEHG air ow VAY-ting-uh-sta-oth.

Could á be confused with the verb að eiga (to own)? How do I tell them apart?

They’re spelled the same but function differently:

• As a preposition (á veitingastað), á sits before a noun and triggers the dative case.
• As a verb (ég á bók = “I own a book”), á is conjugated and takes a direct object in the accusative. Context and case endings make the meaning clear.

Can I just say Ég er veitingastað without á?

No. Without á the sentence would literally mean “I am restaurant.” To express “I am at [some place],” you must use the appropriate preposition (á or í) plus the dative form of the noun.

How do I ask “Are you at a restaurant?” in Icelandic?

Invert the verb and subject pronoun:

• Ertu á veitingastað? = “Are you at a restaurant?”
  If you want “at the restaurant,” use the definite form: Ertu á veitingastaðnum?