Questions & Answers about Mamma er veik í dag.
What does each word in the sentence mean literally?
- Mamma = mom/mum
- er = is (3rd person singular of vera “to be”)
- veik = sick/ill (feminine form of the adjective)
- í = in
- dag = day
Together, í dag is the set phrase for “today,” so the sentence means “Mom is sick today.”
Why is it veik and not veikur or veikt?
Adjectives agree with the subject’s gender and number. Mamma is feminine singular, so the predicative adjective is feminine singular: veik.
- Masculine: veikur (e.g., Pabbi er veikur)
- Feminine: veik (e.g., Mamma er veik)
- Neuter: veikt (e.g., Barnið er veikt)
Do I need to say “my mom,” as in Mamma mín?
Not necessarily. With close family members, Icelandic often omits the possessive when context is clear. Mamma er veik í dag naturally reads as “Mom is sick today.” If you want to be explicit or contrastive, say Mamma mín er veik í dag (“my mom”).
Why is Mamma capitalized here? Is it always capitalized?