Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni.

we

Breakdown of Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni.

• spyrja: to ask
• á: on
• um: about
• kakan: the cake
• verðið: the price

Questions & Answers about Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni.

What role does við play in this sentence?

Við is the 1st-person plural pronoun “we,” functioning as the subject. Icelandic is a Subject-Verb-Object language, so við + spurðum = “we asked.”

What does spurðum mean, and how is it formed?

spurðum is the past-tense (preterite) 1st-person plural of the verb spyrja (“to ask”). Formation:

• Root: spyrj-
• Vowel change for past: y → u
• 1pl ending: ‑ðum
  Together: spurðum = “we asked.”

Why is the preposition um used here, and what case does it take?

The verb spyrja (to ask) takes um when you inquire about something. um always governs the accusative, so you get um verðið (“about the price”).

Why is the word verðið definite, and what does the -ið ending indicate?

In Icelandic, definiteness is marked by a suffix on the noun:

• verð = “price” (indefinite)
• verðið = “the price” (definite)
  Because verð is a neuter noun, its definite singular ending is -ið.

Why are there two prepositions (um and á) in a row?

They serve different roles:

1. um
   • accusative = “about” → um verðið (“about the price”)
2. á
   • dative = “on/at” in a locative or descriptive sense → á kökunni (“on the cake,” idiomatically “of the cake”)
     So um verðið á kökunni = “about the price of the cake.”

Why is kökuni in the dative case, and why does it end in -nni?

The preposition á here indicates a static relationship (“on the cake”), which selects the dative.
Kaka is a feminine noun. Its dative definite singular is formed by adding -nni to the stem:

• Stem of kaka in oblique cases: köku-
• Dative definite: kökunni = “(on) the cake.”

Could we have expressed “price of the cake” using genitive instead of á + dative?

Yes. You can say verð kökunnar, where kökunnar is the genitive definite of kaka. Both mean “price of the cake,” but

• verð kökunnar (noun + genitive)
• verðið á kökunni (definite noun + á
  • dative)
    The á + dative construction is very common with prices and measurements.

Is it possible to drop við since the verb spurðum already signals “we”?

Yes. Icelandic verbs encode person and number, so you can omit the subject pronoun if context is clear:

• (Við) spurðum um verðið á kökunni.
  Including við just adds emphasis or clarity.

Could you say um kökunnar verð instead of um verðið á kökunni?

Not quite. If you want a genitive construction with um, you’d say um verð kökunnar (“about the price of the cake”).
um kökunnar verð is unidiomatic because in Icelandic the head noun of a prepositional object normally comes immediately after the preposition.

What is the word order in Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni, and can it change?

Basic word order is Subject–Verb–Object/Prepositional Object:

1. Við (subject)
2. spurðum (verb)
3. um verðið á kökunni (prepositional phrase = object)
   Icelandic allows some flexibility, but moving um or splitting verðið á kökunni would sound awkward or change emphasis.