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Gestgjafinn býður öllum kaffi, te, vatn og eplasafa, og við skálum þegar afmælisbarnið kemur.

Gestgjafinn býður öllum kaffi, te, vatn og eplasafa, og við skálum þegar afmælisbarnið kemur.
The host offers everyone coffee, tea, water, and apple juice, and we make a toast when the birthday person arrives.
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Questions & Answers about Gestgjafinn býður öllum kaffi, te, vatn og eplasafa, og við skálum þegar afmælisbarnið kemur.

Why does gestgjafinn end in -inn? Is that “the”?

Yes. -inn is the suffixed definite article.

  • gestgjafi = a host
  • gestgjafinn = the host
    In Icelandic, the is usually attached to the noun (and agrees with gender/number/case).
How do I know the gender of gestgjafi and why does it matter here?

Gestgjafi is masculine. Gender matters because it affects:

  • the definite article ending (-inn for masculine nominative singular),
  • adjective forms (not used here),
  • and some pronouns/determiners (like öllum agreeing with a plural noun phrase).
Why is it býður and not bjóða?

Býður is the 3rd person singular present form of bjóða (to offer / to invite).
The subject is gestgjafinn (the host), which is singular, so the verb is singular:

  • ég býð, þú býður, hann/hún/það býður, við bjóðum, þið bjóðið, þeir/þær/þau bjóða
What case is öllum and why is it that form?

Öllum is dative plural of allur (all). It’s dative because bjóða commonly takes:

  • dative for the person receiving something,
  • and accusative for the thing being offered.

So býður öllum ... = offers everyone (DAT) ...

Is there an omitted word after öllum—like “everyone (here)” or “everyone (at the party)”?
No extra word is required. öllum by itself can mean to everyone in a general sense (context supplies who everyone is). If you want to be explicit, you could add something like öllum gestum (to all guests, dative plural).
Why don’t kaffi, te, vatn og eplasafa have articles like “some” or “a”?
In Icelandic, drinks/food offered in a general way often appear as bare nouns without an article, similar to English coffee, tea, water, and apple juice. You can specify amounts, but it’s not necessary here.
Why is it eplasafa and not eplasafi?

Because it’s the accusative singular form of eplasafi (apple juice).
Here it’s one of the things being offered, so it follows the common pattern: bjóða + DAT person + ACC thing.

  • nominative: eplasafi
  • accusative: eplasafa
Do all the items after býður have to be accusative, or only eplasafa?
They are all functioning as the “thing offered,” so they’re all in the accusative role. Some nouns don’t visibly change between nominative and accusative (for example many neuter nouns like vatn look the same), but eplasafi does change, which is why you can see it in eplasafa.
Why is there a comma before og við skálum?

Because the sentence links two main clauses: 1) Gestgjafinn býður ...
2) við skálum ...
The comma helps separate the clauses before og (and). This is common Icelandic punctuation, especially when the clauses are longer.

What does skálum mean grammatically—who is doing the toasting?

Skálum is 1st person plural present of skála (to toast).
So við skálum literally means we toast / we’ll raise a toast.

Why does the word order change in þegar afmælisbarnið kemur?

It’s a subordinate clause introduced by þegar (when), and Icelandic typically has verb-second in main clauses, but in subordinate clauses the verb usually comes later (after the subject and other elements).
So you get: þegar + subject + verb → þegar afmælisbarnið kemur.

What is afmælisbarnið, and why does it have -ið at the end?

Afmælisbarnið means the birthday child (i.e., the person whose birthday it is).

  • barn is neuter
  • the definite article in neuter nominative/accusative singular is -ið
    So afmælisbarn = a birthday child, afmælisbarnið = the birthday child.
How would I pronounce some of the tricky words here: gestgjafinn, býður, skálum, afmælisbarnið?

Approximate guidance (regional variation exists):

  • gestgjafinn: the gj is like a y sound in many contexts → roughly GEST-ya-vin
  • býður: ý is like a long ee with rounded lips; ð is soft (often like th in this, or very light) → roughly BEE-thur (often the ð is quite subtle)
  • skálum: á is like ow in now (long) → roughly SKOW-lum
  • afmælisbarnið: stress on the first syllable AF-; ð at the end is usually not strongly pronounced → roughly AF-my-lis-bar-nith (with a light final sound)