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Ég er að skera tómata smátt í eldhúsinu.

Ég er að skera tómata smátt í eldhúsinu.
I am cutting tomatoes finely in the kitchen.
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Questions & Answers about Ég er að skera tómata smátt í eldhúsinu.

Why does it say Ég er að skera instead of just Ég sker?

Ég er að + infinitive is a very common way to express an action in progress, similar to English I am cutting.
Ég sker is the simple present and often reads more like a habitual/general statement (I cut / I do cut tomatoes) unless context makes it “right now”.

What exactly is að doing here?

Here að is an infinitive marker (often comparable to English to), introducing the infinitive skera. In the construction vera að + infinitive, it helps form the “ongoing action” meaning.

Why is the verb skera in the infinitive form?

Because the finite (conjugated) verb in this sentence is er (from vera, to be). After er að, Icelandic uses the infinitive: (ég) er að skera.

Why is it tómata and not tómatar?

tómatar is nominative plural (typically the subject form).
Here tómata is accusative plural, because skera (to cut) takes a direct object, and direct objects are very often in the accusative in Icelandic.

What would the other case forms of tómatur look like in the plural?

Common plural forms are:

  • Nominative: tómatar
  • Accusative: tómata (used here)
  • Dative: tómötum
  • Genitive: tómata

So tómata can be either accusative plural (as here) or genitive plural (in other contexts).

Why does it say í eldhúsinu (with the ending -inu)?

eldhúsinu is dative singular with the definite article (“the kitchen”).
The ending -inu = eldhús-i-nu:

  • eldhús (stem)
  • -i (dative singular ending)
  • -nu (the definite article in that form)

So í eldhúsinu = in the kitchen (specific/known kitchen).

Why is í followed by the dative (eldhúsinu) here?

With location (“where”), í takes the dative: í eldhúsinu = “in the kitchen.”
With motion/destination (“to/into where”), í usually takes the accusative:

  • Ég fer í eldhúsið = “I go into the kitchen.”
What is smátt—is it an adjective or an adverb?

Here smátt functions as an adverb meaning “finely / into small pieces.” It’s historically the neuter form of an adjective and is commonly used adverbially in Icelandic.

Is the word order fixed—why is smátt placed after tómata?

This placement is common: skera tómata smátt = “cut tomatoes finely.”
You can also see alternatives depending on emphasis, but object + adverb is very natural here. Putting smátt earlier can sound more marked or stylistic.

How would the sentence change if I meant “some tomatoes” rather than “the tomatoes”?
This sentence already sounds like “tomatoes” in a general sense (no definite article on tómata). If you wanted to make it more explicitly indefinite, you might add a quantity word, e.g. Ég er að skera nokkra tómata smátt (“I’m cutting some tomatoes finely”).