Breakdown of Vinnufélagi minn hringir í hádeginu.
Questions & Answers about Vinnufélagi minn hringir í hádeginu.
Both are grammatical, but they differ in nuance:
- vinnufélagi minn often feels like “a coworker of mine” (one among several).
- vinnufélaginn minn points to a specific coworker the speaker assumes you can identify (“my coworker, the one you know about”). In many contexts either works; choose based on how specific you want to be.
It’s “in/at the noon,” i.e., “at noon” or “around lunchtime.”
- í governs the dative when expressing static location/time.
- hádegi is a neuter noun “noon.”
- hádeginu is the dative singular with the definite article: hádegi + -nu → “the noon.”
Icelandic can omit an obvious object. Context often makes it clear who is being called. If you want to say it explicitly, add the object with hringja í + accusative:
- Vinnufélagi minn hringir í mig í hádeginu. = “My coworker calls me at noon.”
It’s the same word but used differently:
- Time/place “in/at”: í
- dative → í hádeginu.
- Verb complement “call someone”: hringja í
- accusative → hringja í mig/þig/hana/hann.
So you can get both in one sentence: hringir í mig í hádeginu.
- accusative → hringja í mig/þig/hana/hann.
Yes. Icelandic main clauses are verb-second. You can front the time phrase:
- Í hádeginu hringir vinnufélagi minn.
The finite verb (hringir) stays in second position.
Yes. Icelandic often uses the present for scheduled or near-future events: “He calls at noon” = “He will call at noon.” If you want to mark future more explicitly, use:
- mun + infinitive: Vinnufélagi minn mun hringja í hádeginu.
- ætlar að + infinitive for intention: … ætlar að hringja …
Natural options include:
- um hádegi (“around noon”)
- hádegis (adverbial, “at/about noon”)
- um hádegisbil (“around lunchtime”)
For precision, you can say klukkan tólf (“at 12 o’clock”) if you mean exactly 12:00.
- Infinitive: hringja
- 1sg pres.: ég hringi
- 3sg pres.: hann/hún hringir
- Past (1sg): ég hringdi
- Supine/participle (used with “have”): hefur hringt
Example: Hann hringdi í gær. Ég hef hringt oft.
A rough guide (not IPA):
- Vinnufélagi ≈ “VIN-nu-fyeh-la-yi”
- minn ≈ “minn” (short i, double n)
- hringir ≈ “HRING-ir” (initial hr is a breathy/voiceless r)
- í hádeginu ≈ “ee HOW-day-yi-nu”
Put together: “VIN-nu-fyeh-la-yi minn HRING-ir ee HOW-day-yi-nu.”
Use the past of hringja:
- Vinnufélagi minn hringdi í hádeginu. = “My coworker called at noon.”
It’s a compound: vinna (“work”) + félagi (“companion/member”) → “work-companion,” i.e., coworker/colleague. Common synonyms:
- samstarfsfélagi or samstarfsmaður (more formal “coworker/colleague”)
- félagi í vinnunni (“a colleague at work,” periphrastic)