Breakdown of Við mætumst á veitingastað í kvöld.
við
we
á
at
veitingastaður
the restaurant
í kvöld
tonight
mætast
to meet
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Questions & Answers about Við mætumst á veitingastað í kvöld.
What part of speech is við, and can it be omitted?
við is the 1st person plural subject pronoun (we). In Icelandic, subject pronouns can often be dropped if the verb ending makes the subject clear, so you could say Mætumst á veitingastað í kvöld and still be understood, especially in casual speech.
What does mætumst mean, and why the ending -umst?
The infinitive is mætast, a reciprocal/middle-voice verb meaning to meet each other. The ending -umst marks 1st person plural present tense: við mætumst = we meet/we will meet.
Why is veitingastað in its bare form without an article?
Icelandic has no indefinite article. An indefinite singular noun stands alone (here veitingastað = a restaurant). To make it definite you'd add a suffix and use the dative: á veitingastaðnum = at the restaurant.
Why does the preposition á take the dative case with veitingastað?
When á indicates location (where something happens), it governs the dative. veitingastaður (restaurant) is a strong masculine noun whose dative singular is veitingastað.
Why is í used in í kvöld, and could you use á kvöld instead?
í kvöld is the standard way to say tonight/this evening. While á kvöldin means in the evenings (habitually), á kvöld alone isn't used for tonight. For a general time in the evening you can say um kvöld, but for this specific evening it's always í kvöld.
Can í kvöld start the sentence, and does that affect word order?
Yes. If you front the time expression, you must keep the finite verb second: Í kvöld mætumst við á veitingastað. The verb remains in the second position, so the subject við comes after the verb here.
Why is the present tense mætumst used for a future meeting?
Icelandic often uses the present tense for scheduled or arranged near-future events. mætumst naturally conveys we will meet. If you want to be more explicit about the future you can use munum + infinitive: Við munum mætast á veitingastað í kvöld, but that's usually unnecessary.