Kakan er sæt, en ég borða bara smá.

The cake is sweet, but I only eat a little.

Breakdown of Kakan er sæt, en ég borða bara smá.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• borða: to eat
• en: but

Questions & Answers about Kakan er sæt, en ég borða bara smá.

Why does kaka become kakan?

-n is the Icelandic definite article attached to the noun.

• kaka = a cake / cake (indefinite)
• kakan = the cake (definite)
  For feminine singular nouns like kaka, the nominative definite ending is typically -in → kaka + -in = kakan.

What is the role of er here?

er is the present tense of the verb að vera (to be), 3rd person singular. It links the subject kakan to the adjective sæt the same way English is does: Kakan er ... = The cake is ....

Why is the adjective sæt not some other form (like sætur, sæt, sætt)?