Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Matseðillinn á veitingastaðnum er nýr.

matseðillinn – the menu
- matur = food
- seðill = note/list/slip
- matseðill = menu (literally “food list”)
- -inn = “the” (masculine singular definite ending)
á – on / at (here: at)
veitingastaðnum – the restaurant (in dative case)
- veiting = serving, refreshment
- staður = place
- veitingastaður = restaurant (literally “serving-place”)
- -num = “the” (masc. singular definite dative ending)
er – is (3rd person singular of the verb vera = to be)
nýr – new (masculine singular nominative form of the adjective nýr/ný/nýtt = new)

Why is it matseðillinn and not just matseðill? Where is “the”?

Icelandic usually does not put “the” as a separate word before a noun. Instead it adds a suffix:

matseðill = a menu (indefinite)
matseðillinn = the menu (definite)

The ending -inn is the masculine singular definite article in the nominative case.

So matseðillinn already contains the meaning “the menu.” You do not say *inn matseðill.

What case is matseðillinn in here, and why?

Matseðillinn is in the nominative singular definite:

It’s the subject of the sentence:
- Matseðillinn … er nýr. → The menu … is new.
Subjects of simple “X is Y” sentences are normally in the nominative case.

So:

Case: nominative
Number: singular
Gender: masculine
Definiteness: definite → realized with the -inn ending

What case is veitingastaðnum, and why doesn’t it look like the dictionary form veitingastaður?

Veitingastaðnum is dative singular definite of veitingastaður:

Dictionary form (nom. sg.): veitingastaður – a restaurant
Dative singular indefinite: veitingastað
Dative singular definite: veitingastaðnum – at the restaurant

The preposition á here expresses location (at/on a place), and with static location á takes the dative case.
Therefore, veitingastaður must appear as veitingastaðnum after á in this meaning.

How does the preposition á work? Does it always mean “on”?

Á is flexible; it can mean on, at, or to, depending on context and case:

Location (where?) → dative
- Matseðillinn er á veitingastaðnum.
  The menu is at the restaurant.
Direction / movement (to where?) → accusative
- Við förum á veitingastaðinn.
  We are going to the restaurant.

In your sentence, á veitingastaðnum is a location phrase (“at the restaurant”), so veitingastaðnum is in the dative.

Why is the adjective nýr and not ný or nýtt?

Adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun in:

Gender
Number
Case

The noun:

matseðillinn – masculine, singular, nominative

So the adjective nýr must be:

Masculine: nýr
Singular
Nominative

The main basic forms of this adjective are:

nýr – masculine nominative singular
ný – feminine nominative singular
nýtt – neuter nominative singular

Because matseðillinn is masculine, nominative singular, you must say:

Matseðillinn … er nýr.
Not … er ný, not … er nýtt.

Could the sentence also be Matseðill veitingastaðarins er nýr? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is also grammatical, but the structure and nuance are slightly different:

Matseðillinn á veitingastaðnum er nýr.
- Literally: The menu at the restaurant is new.
- á veitingastaðnum is a prepositional phrase (“at the restaurant”).
Matseðill veitingastaðarins er nýr.
- Literally: The menu of the restaurant is new.
- veitingastaðarins is genitive (of the restaurant).

Differences in feel:

á veitingastaðnum → more like “the menu that (they have) at the restaurant,” a location-based description.
veitingastaðarins → more like “the restaurant’s menu,” a possessive relationship.

In everyday speech, the original á veitingastaðnum version is very natural and common.

Can I change the word order, for example: Á veitingastaðnum er matseðillinn nýr?

Yes, Icelandic allows some flexibility in word order to change emphasis:

Matseðillinn á veitingastaðnum er nýr.
→ Neutral: “The menu at the restaurant is new.”
Á veitingastaðnum er matseðillinn nýr.
→ Emphasizes at the restaurant more strongly, like:
At the restaurant, the menu is new (as opposed to somewhere else).

The basic rule is that the finite verb (er) should be in second position in main clauses (the V2 rule). So you can front á veitingastaðnum, but er must still come second:

Á veitingastaðnum er matseðillinn nýr. ✅
Á veitingastaðnum matseðillinn er nýr. ❌

How do you pronounce matseðillinn and veitingastaðnum, especially the letters ð and ll?

Approximate pronunciation:

matseðillinn → [ˈmahtsˌɛðɪtlɪn] (very approximate to English ears)
- ts: the t
  - s in mat-seð- sound like ts.
- ð: like the th in this (voiced).
- ll: often pronounced like tl or sometimes more like a quick tl̥ sound, not like English “double L.”
veitingastaðnum → [ˈvei̯tiŋkaˌstaðnʏm] (approx.)
- ei: similar to English “say” or “day.”
- ð in staðnum: again, like th in this.
- Final -num: short, unstressed, like “nuhm.”

These are rough guides; actual Icelandic pronunciation has specific stress and vowel qualities you’ll get used to by listening to natives.

How would I say “The menus at the restaurants are new” using the same words?

You need the plural forms of both nouns and the adjective:

matseðill → plural nominative definite: matseðlarnir (the menus)
veitingastaður → plural dative definite: veitingastöðunum (at the restaurants)
- Notice the vowel change stað- → stöð- in the plural.

Adjective nýr in masculine plural nominative definite: nýir

So a plural version analogous to your sentence:

Matseðlarnir á veitingastöðunum eru nýir.
→ The menus at the restaurants are new.

What is the verb er exactly, and how does it conjugate?

Er is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb vera (“to be”), equivalent to English is.

Present tense of vera:

ég er – I am
þú ert – you (sg.) are
hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
við erum – we are
þið eruð – you (pl.) are
þeir / þær / þau eru – they are

So in Matseðillinn á veitingastaðnum er nýr, er agrees with the 3rd person singular subject matseðillinn.