Við borðum konfektið eftir kvöldmat.

to eat

Breakdown of Við borðum konfektið eftir kvöldmat.

• við: we
• eftir: after
• kvöldmaturinn: the dinner
• konfektið: the candy

Questions & Answers about Við borðum konfektið eftir kvöldmat.

Why is við used here, and what does it mean?

Við here is the 1st-person plural personal pronoun: we.
Be aware that við can also be a preposition meaning by/near/at/against, but in this sentence it’s clearly the pronoun because it’s followed by a verb (borðum).

How do you know borðum means we eat?

The verb is að borða (to eat). In the present tense it conjugates like this:

• ég borða = I eat
• þú borðar = you eat
• hann/hún/það borðar = he/she/it eats
• við borðum = we eat
• þið borðið = you (pl.) eat
• þeir/þær/þau borða = they eat

So borðum is the við (we) form.

Is this present tense, and can it also mean “we are eating”?

Yes, borðum is present tense. Like English, Icelandic present tense can cover both:

• a general/habitual meaning (we eat) and
• an “in progress” meaning (we are eating)
  Context decides. If you want to be extra explicit about “in progress,” Icelandic often uses adverbials like núna (now) rather than a special progressive verb form.

What exactly is konfekt, and is it singular or plural?

Konfekt is a common word for assorted chocolates / fancy candy (often boxed chocolates, especially around holidays). Grammatically, it behaves like a mass noun in Icelandic (similar to candy in English), so it often appears as a singular noun even if it refers to multiple pieces.

Why is it konfektið with -ið at the end?

That -ið is the definite article attached to the noun (Icelandic usually attaches “the” to the end of the word).

• konfekt = (some) chocolate/candy (indefinite)
• konfektið = the chocolate/candy (definite)

Because konfekt is neuter, the definite ending here is -ið.

Why does konfektið look the same as a subject form—how do cases work here?

In this sentence, konfektið is the direct object of borðum (we eat it). That’s typically accusative case.
For many neuter nouns in Icelandic, nominative and accusative are identical, so konfektið looks the same whether it’s a subject or an object.

Why is it eftir kvöldmat and not something like eftir kvöldmatur?

Because eftir is a preposition that requires a specific case. In the meaning after (in time), eftir takes the accusative.
The dictionary form is kvöldmatur (masculine), but its accusative singular (indefinite) is kvöldmat, so you get:

• eftir kvöldmat = after dinner

Could it also be eftir kvöldmatinn with the definite article?

Yes. Both can be correct, with a difference in feel:

• eftir kvöldmat = after dinner (general / the dinner meal as a concept)
• eftir kvöldmatinn = after the dinner (a specific dinner you have in mind, e.g., tonight’s dinner)

I heard eftir can take different cases. Is that true?

Yes. Eftir can govern accusative or dative depending on meaning:

• accusative: time/order/motion along something
  
  • eftir kvöldmat = after dinner (time)
• dative: “in pursuit of / longing for / according to” in many common uses
  
  • Ég sakna hans / Ég þrái eftir honum type patterns (you’ll often see dative forms like honum)

For your sentence’s meaning (after dinner), accusative is the normal choice.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move eftir kvöldmat elsewhere?

The given order is very neutral: Við + verb + object + time phrase.
You can also move the time phrase, especially for emphasis:

• Við borðum konfektið eftir kvöldmat. (neutral)
• Eftir kvöldmat borðum við konfektið. (emphasizes “after dinner”)

The verb is still in the 2nd position in the main clause when something else comes first (Eftir kvöldmat).

How is this sentence pronounced (especially ð)?

A few common points learners ask about:

• Við: the ð is usually a soft “th” sound (like this) or can be very light/blurred in fast speech.
• borðum: the ð is also soft; many speakers make it quite subtle between vowels.
• Stress is generally on the first syllable: VÍÐ, BÓRðum, KÓNfektið, EFTir, KVÖLDmat.