Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Þjónninn gefur okkur matseðilinn á veitingastaðnum. - The waiter gives us the menu at the restaurant.

Here, matseðilinn is the direct object of gefur, so it stands in the accusative case, and -inn again is just the definite article the.

Why is it á veitingastaðnum and not á veitingastaðinn?

The preposition á (on, at) can take either:

accusative – for movement to/onto a place
dative – for location in/on/at a place (no movement)

Examples:

Ég fer á veitingastaðinn – I go to the restaurant. (movement → accusative)
Ég er á veitingastaðnum – I am at the restaurant. (location → dative)

In the sentence, the waiter is already at the restaurant; it just states where the action happens. So á veitingastaðnum uses the dative form veitingastaðnum.

What does veitingastaðnum look like in its basic form?

The basic (dictionary) form is veitingastaður = restaurant.

Singular forms (masculine):

Nominative: veitingastaður – (a) restaurant
Accusative: veitingastað
Dative: veitingastað
With definite article in dative: veitingastaðnum – at the restaurant

So veitingastaðnum is dative singular + “the”.

How is case being used overall in this sentence?

Breakdown:

Þjónninn – nominative singular (subject)
gefur – verb
okkur – dative plural (indirect object, receiver)
matseðilinn – accusative singular (direct object, thing given)
á veitingastaðnum – preposition á
- dative singular (veitingastaðnum) showing location

Pattern:

Subject = nominative
Receiver of give = dative
Thing given = accusative
Location with á (no movement) = dative

Why is the order gefur okkur matseðilinn and not gefur matseðilinn okkur?

Both orders are grammatically possible, but the most neutral / common order in Icelandic (and in English) is:

verb + indirect object + direct object
gefur okkur matseðilinn = gives us the menu

If you say gefur matseðilinn okkur, you’re not wrong, but it can sound a bit marked or emphasize matseðilinn slightly more. The basic, unmarked word order is the one in the sentence.

Could Icelandic use a separate word for “the”, like þjónn the?

No. Modern Icelandic almost always uses a suffix article, not a separate word:

þjónn – waiter
þjónninn – the waiter
matseðill – menu
matseðillinn – the menu
veitingastaður – restaurant
veitingastaðurinn – the restaurant

There are some special uses of a separate hinn/hin/hið, but you do not use it in simple noun phrases like this.

How do you pronounce the special letters Þ, ð, and á in this sentence?

Þ þ (in Þjónninn)
- Pronounced like th in thing.
- So Þjónninn starts like THYOHN-nin (roughly).
ð (in staðnum)
- Pronounced like th in this (voiced).
- staður roughly like stath-ur.
á (in á veitingastaðnum)
- A long vowel, like English ow in cow, but shorter/cleaner.
- á on its own sounds like ow.

Can I move á veitingastaðnum earlier in the sentence?

Yes, Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible for adverbials (time/place phrases). For example:

Á veitingastaðnum gefur þjónninn okkur matseðilinn.
– At the restaurant, the waiter gives us the menu.

This is still correct. Putting á veitingastaðnum at the end (as in the original) is very natural and common, but moving it to the front is okay, especially for emphasis or style.

Is Þjónninn always masculine, or could it refer to a female server too?

Grammatically, þjónn is masculine gender, and Þjónninn is the masculine definite form. In traditional usage, this often implied a male waiter.

In modern everyday speech, though, people may still say þjónninn about a server regardless of actual gender, especially if they’re just talking about “the server” generically. There are more explicitly gender-marked or neutral alternatives, but in practice þjónninn can refer to whoever is waiting tables.