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Breakdown of Hann borðar grænmeti með gaffli.
borða
to eat
hann
he
með
with
grænmetið
the vegetable
gaffallinn
the fork
Questions & Answers about Hann borðar grænmeti með gaffli.
What does borðar mean, and how is it conjugated?
Borðar is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the weak verb borða, meaning to eat. Its full present‐tense conjugation is:
• ég borða (I eat)
• þú borðar (you eat)
• hann/hún/það borðar (he/she/it eats)
• við borðum (we eat)
• þið borðið (you pl. eat)
• þeir/þær/þau borða (they eat)
Why is there no article before grænmeti, unlike English “vegetables”?
Icelandic often omits the indefinite article when speaking about things in a general or mass‐noun sense. Grænmeti here means “vegetables” broadly, so no article is needed. If you wanted “the vegetable,” you’d say grænmetið.
Is grænmeti singular or plural?
Grænmeti is grammatically singular neuter. It’s a mass noun whose nominative and accusative singular form is grænmeti, but context gives it the sense of “vegetables” (plural/general).
Which case does með require, and how does that affect gaffall?
The preposition með always governs the dative case in Icelandic. The noun gaffall (fork) in the dative singular becomes gaffli.
How would you say “with the fork” instead of “with a fork”?
You need the definite dative singular. Gaffall → gafflanum. So “with the fork” is með gafflanum.
Why is the verb borðar placed second in the sentence, before the object?
Icelandic is a V2 (verb‐second) language: in main clauses the finite verb normally occupies the second position. Here the subject Hann is first, so borðar follows immediately, then the object.
Can you omit the subject pronoun Hann like in Spanish?
No. Unlike Spanish, Icelandic almost always requires the explicit subject pronoun, even though the verb ending indicates person. Omitting Hann would sound unnatural.
How do you say “forks” in Icelandic, and how would you say “with forks”?
The nominative plural of gaffall is gafflar (“forks”). To say “with forks,” use the dative plural með gafflum.
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