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Questions & Answers about Við pöntum bæði salat og súpu.
What does the pronoun við mean, and does it change form?
við means "we" and is the nominative (subject) form. The other common forms are:
- okkur = us (accusative/dative)
- okkar = our/ours (genitive) Example: Hann pantar fyrir okkur = He orders for us.
Why is it pöntum and not panta or pantum?
pöntum is the present tense, 1st person plural ("we") of að panta ("to order/book"). Many verbs with an a in the stem show a vowel change to ö in the -um "we" form (a historical u-umlaut):
- ég panta (I order)
- við pöntum (we order)
What does bæði ... og ... do? Do I need it?
It’s the correlative "both ... and ...", emphasizing that both items are included. You can omit bæði and just say Við pöntum salat og súpu, which still means you order both; bæði simply adds emphasis or clarity.
Why is súpu not súpa?
súpu is the accusative singular of the feminine noun súpa ("soup"). As a direct object of a transitive verb (panta), it takes the accusative: nominative súpa → accusative súpu.
Why doesn’t salat change form?
salat is a neuter noun, and in the singular the nominative and accusative look the same. So as a direct object it stays salat.
How would I say "the salad" and "the soup" here?
Use the suffixed definite forms, both in the accusative:
- salatið = the salad (neuter; nom/acc are identical)
- súpuna = the soup (feminine accusative) Example: Við pöntum bæði salatið og súpuna.
Where does bæði go in the sentence?
Place bæði right before the first coordinated item: bæði X og Y. Word order of the two items themselves is flexible: bæði salat og súpu or bæði súpu og salat.
How do I say "We are ordering both salad and soup" (progressive)?
Use the "vera að + infinitive" construction: Við erum að panta bæði salat og súpu. Icelandic present simple (Við pöntum ...) can also describe actions happening now, so both are fine.
How do I say "We order neither salad nor soup"?
Use the correlative negation hvorki ... né ...: Við pöntum hvorki salat né súpu.
Is panta the usual verb for ordering food?
It works and is common, especially in narration or when booking/reserving (e.g., a table: panta borð). At the table, many speakers use polite request patterns like Ég ætla að fá ... ("I’ll have ...") or Mig langar í ... ("I’d like ...").
Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Við: final ð is the voiced "th" in "this."
- pöntum: ö like the vowel in French "peur"; initial p is aspirated.
- bæði: æ like "eye"; ð as above.
- og ("and"): often pronounced with a soft g, roughly "ohg" or even just a long "o" in fast speech.
- súpu: ú is a long "oo" as in "food."
What’s the difference between bæði and forms like báðir/báðar/bæði?
In bæði ... og ..., bæði is an adverb meaning "both," used regardless of the genders of the nouns. The forms báðir (masc.), báðar (fem.), bæði (neut.) are adjectives/pronouns meaning "both (people/things)" and agree with what they refer to. For mixed-gender groups of people, the masculine plural báðir is the standard default, though you may also hear við bæði informally.
Do both nouns after bæði ... og ... have to be in the same case?
Yes. They share the same syntactic role, so they take the same case. Here they’re both direct objects, so: salat (neuter acc. sg., unchanged) and súpu (feminine acc. sg.).
How do I put the sentence in the past tense?
Past of panta is weak:
- ég pantaði
- við pöntuðum So: Við pöntuðum bæði salat og súpu.