Hún hatar þegar kaffið er kalt og gamalt.

She hates it when the coffee is cold and old.

Breakdown of Hún hatar þegar kaffið er kalt og gamalt.

• vera: to be
• hún: she
• kaldur: cold
• gamall: old

Questions & Answers about Hún hatar þegar kaffið er kalt og gamalt.

Why does kaffið end with -ið instead of just kaffi?

Kaffið is “the coffee”, while kaffi is just “coffee” (no article).

Icelandic usually doesn’t use a separate word for “the”. Instead, it attaches a definite article ending to the noun:

• kaffi = coffee (in general / some coffee)
• kaffið = the coffee (a specific coffee that both speakers know about)

So in „þegar kaffið er kalt og gamalt“, she’s talking about the coffee she has (e.g. the cup in front of her), not coffee in general.

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Why is there no word for “it” in „þegar kaffið er kalt og gamalt“ (literally “when the coffee is cold and old”)?