Breakdown of Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.
borða
to eat
saman
together
í kvöld
tonight
fjölskyldan
the family
Questions & Answers about Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.
What does the ending -an in fjölskyldan mean?
The ending -an is the definite article attached to the noun.
- fjölskylda = a family (indefinite)
- fjölskyldan = the family (definite)
In Icelandic, the definite article (the) is usually added as an ending to the noun, instead of being a separate word as in English.
Why is borðar used here, and not borða?
Borða is the verb to eat. In the present tense it changes form depending on the subject:
- ég borða – I eat
- þú borðar – you (singular) eat
- hann/hún/það borðar – he/she/it eats
- við borðum – we eat
- þið borðið – you (plural) eat
- þeir/þær/þau borða – they eat
Fjölskyldan is grammatically third person singular, so it takes the same form as hann/hún/það:
- fjölskyldan borðar – the family eats
But family is a group of people. Why is fjölskyldan treated as singular?