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Ég sendi boð til vina minna í dag.

Ég sendi boð til vina minna í dag.
I send an invitation to my friends today.
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Questions & Answers about Ég sendi boð til vina minna í dag.

Why is it vina and not vinir or vini?

Because til requires the genitive case in Icelandic.
The noun vinur (friend) declines like this in the plural:

  • Nominative: vinir (friends)
  • Accusative: vini
  • Dative: vinum
  • Genitive: vina

So til vina literally means to/of friends → idiomatically to friends.

What case is minna here, and why isn’t it mínum or mínir?

Minna is genitive plural of the possessive pronoun minn (my), agreeing with vina (also genitive plural).
Because the phrase is til + genitive, both words end up in the genitive plural: til vina minna = to my friends.

Does Ég sendi mean I send or I sent?

It can be either, because sendi is the 1st person singular form for both:

  • present: ég sendi = I send / I’m sending
  • past: ég sendi = I sent

Usually, context decides. With í dag (today), it could mean:

  • I sent (them) today (earlier today), or
  • I’m sending (them) today (today in general)

If you need to clarify, you can add context words (like núna = now, áðan = earlier), or use a longer phrasing.

Why is boð not changed—what case is it?

Boð is the direct object of senda (to send), so it’s typically accusative.
But boð is neuter, and many neuter nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular—so you don’t see a change.

Also, boð has the same form in singular and plural (it’s one of those neuter nouns):

  • singular: boð
  • plural: boð (Only the article/adjective would clearly show singular vs plural.)
Does boð mean an invitation, a message, or an offer?

Boð can mean several related things, depending on context: an invitation, an offer, or a request/notice.
In everyday Icelandic, senda boð is commonly used for sending an invitation (often to an event), but it can also mean sending a request/word to someone.

Could I also say Ég bauð vinum mínum í dag instead?

Yes, but it changes the structure and nuance:

  • Ég sendi boð til vina minna í dag.
    = I sent an invitation/message to my friends today. (focus on sending)

  • Ég bauð vinum mínum í dag.
    = I invited my friends today. (focus on the act of inviting)

Notice the case change: bjóða takes dative for the person invited → vinum mínum (dative plural), not genitive.

Why is it til and not að for “to”?

Til is a very common preposition meaning to / towards / for, and it takes the genitive. It’s often used for sending, moving, directing something to someone: senda … til ….

Að can also mean to, but it usually:

  • takes dative, and
  • is common with motion toward a place/person in certain patterns (fara að…, koma að…), or fixed expressions.

For “send X to someone,” til + genitive is a very standard choice.

Is the word order fixed—can í dag move?

It’s flexible. Í dag is an adverbial time phrase and can move for emphasis, for example:

  • Ég sendi boð til vina minna í dag. (neutral)
  • Í dag sendi ég boð til vina minna. (emphasizes today)
  • Ég sendi í dag boð til vina minna. (possible, but less neutral)

In main clauses, Icelandic is typically verb-second (V2), so if you move Í dag to the front, the verb usually comes next: Í dag sendi ég…

Why is there no word for the in this sentence?

Icelandic often leaves nouns indefinite when English might or might not use the. Here, boð is just an invitation / a message in general.

If you wanted the invitation (definite singular), you’d use the suffixed article:

  • boðið = the invitation / the message

If it were definitely plural:

  • boðin = the invitations
How do I know whether boð here is singular or plural?

Often you know from context. Since boð looks the same in singular and plural, you might rely on:

  • surrounding words (like many, numbers, adjectives), or
  • the situation (one invitation vs multiple invitations)

Examples that force the meaning:

  • Ég sendi eitt boð… = I sent one invitation…
  • Ég sendi þrjú boð… = I sent three invitations…
  • Ég sendi mörg boð… = I sent many invitations…
Why is it vina minna and not mínir vinir?

Both are possible, but they belong to different structures:

  • mínir vinir = my friends in the nominative (used as a subject)
    Example: Mínir vinir koma í dag. = My friends are coming today.

  • vina minna = of my friends / to my friends in the genitive plural (required after til)
    Example: Ég sendi boð til vina minna.

So it’s not a stylistic choice here—it’s driven by case.

How is this sentence pronounced (roughly), especially Ég and boð?

A rough pronunciation guide (varies by speaker/region):

  • Ég ≈ yehgh (the g is a voiced fricative sound; many learners approximate it)
  • sendi ≈ SEN-di
  • boð ≈ both / boath (final ð is a “soft th”-type sound; often quite light at word end)
  • til ≈ til (with a clear t)
  • vina ≈ VI-na
  • minna ≈ MIN-na
  • í dag ≈ ee thahg (the á/ó/í length is important; í is a long ee)

Key spelling notes:

  • í is a long vowel (different from i)
  • ð is not a “d” sound; it’s like a th sound (voiced, though often weaker at the end of a word)