Við setjum matinn sem er eftir í ísskápinn.

to be

Breakdown of Við setjum matinn sem er eftir í ísskápinn.

• við: we
• maturinn: the food
• setja: to put

Questions & Answers about Við setjum matinn sem er eftir í ísskápinn.

What does setjum mean, and what form of the verb is it?

Setjum comes from the verb að setja (to put, set, place).
Here it is:

• 1st person plural, present tense: við setjum = we put / we are putting.
• Icelandic doesn’t have a separate continuous tense like English, so við setjum can mean both we put (habitually) and we are putting (right now), depending on context.

Why is it matinn and not matur or maturinn?

The base noun is matur (food) and it’s masculine. In this sentence it appears as:

• matinn = the food in the accusative singular, definite.

Rough pattern:

• Nominative: matur – food (subject form)
• Accusative: mat – food (object form)
• Definite nominative: maturinn – the food (as subject)
• Definite accusative: matinn – the food (as object) ← used here

Because matinn is the direct object of setjum (we put what? the food), it has to be accusative.

What does sem er eftir literally mean, and why isn’t it just “that is after”?