Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni.

we

Breakdown of Við spurðum um verðið á kökunni.

• spyrja: to ask
• á: on
• um: about

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.