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Ég geng frá borðinu eftir kvöldmat.

Ég geng frá borðinu eftir kvöldmat.
I tidy up the table after dinner.

Breakdown of Ég geng frá borðinu eftir kvöldmat.

ég
I
borðið
the table
eftir
after
ganga frá
to put in order
kvöldmatur
dinner
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Questions & Answers about Ég geng frá borðinu eftir kvöldmat.

Why is it geng and not gengur?

Geng is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb að ganga (to walk).

  • ég geng = I walk
  • þú gengur = you walk
  • hann/hún/það gengur = he/she/it walks

So gengur would not match ég.

Can I drop Ég (the subject pronoun) in Icelandic?

Usually no. Icelandic generally keeps subject pronouns, because verb endings don’t always uniquely identify the subject in all tenses/moods, and dropping pronouns can sound unnatural.

In very informal contexts (especially in diaries/notes) you might occasionally see it omitted, but as a learner it’s best to keep Ég.

What case does frá take, and why is it borðinu?

The preposition frá normally takes the dative case.

borð (table) changes in the dative singular definite to borðinu:

  • nominative: borð / borðið
  • dative: borði / borðinu

So frá borðinu = from the table / away from the table (with borðinu in dative).

What does the ending -inu in borðinu mean?

-inu marks dative singular definite for many neuter nouns.

For borð (neuter):

  • borð = a table (indefinite)
  • borðið = the table (definite, nominative/accusative)
  • borðinu = the table (definite, dative)

So borðinu specifically means the table in the form required after frá.

Is ganga frá a “phrasal verb”? Does it always mean walking away?

It behaves a bit like a phrasal verb, and it can mean different things depending on context.

  • ganga frá borðinu is commonly understood as to get up/step away from the table (literally “walk from the table”).
  • But að ganga frá can also mean to put away / tidy up / finish off (e.g., ganga frá diskunum = put the dishes away).

Here, with frá borðinu, the “walk away” meaning is the natural one.

Could I also say Ég fer frá borðinu instead of Ég geng frá borðinu?

Yes, and it’s very common.

  • Ég fer frá borðinu = I leave the table (more neutral; focuses on leaving)
  • Ég geng frá borðinu = I walk away from the table (a bit more literal; focuses on walking)

Both are correct; the choice depends on whether you want to highlight the act of walking.

Why is it eftir kvöldmat and not eftir kvöldmatinn?

Both can be possible, but they differ in feel:

  • eftir kvöldmat = after dinner (dinner as a general event/meal)
  • eftir kvöldmatinn = after the dinner (a specific, definite dinner)

In everyday speech, meals are often used without the definite article when you mean the general concept of that meal.

What case does eftir take, and why is it kvöldmat?

Eftir can take different cases depending on meaning, but in the time sense “after”, it takes the accusative.

kvöldmatur (dinner/supper) in the accusative singular is kvöldmat:

  • nominative: kvöldmatur
  • accusative: kvöldmat
  • dative: kvöldmat
  • genitive: kvöldmatar

So eftir kvöldmat uses the accusative form kvöldmat.

Why is the word order Ég geng frá borðinu eftir kvöldmat? Could Eftir kvöldmat come first?

Icelandic word order is fairly flexible. Your sentence is a straightforward neutral order: subject + verb + phrases.

You can front the time phrase for emphasis:

  • Eftir kvöldmat geng ég frá borðinu. = After dinner, I leave the table.

Notice that when something other than the subject comes first, Icelandic typically keeps the verb in the second position (often called V2 word order), so you get geng ég, not ég geng.

How are the tricky parts pronounced: Ég, geng, frá, borðinu, eftir, kvöldmat?

A practical pronunciation guide (approximate):

  • Ég: like yeh (the g is not a hard g sound here)
  • geng: roughly gyeng(k) (with a palatal “gy” sound before e)
  • frá: frow (long á like “ow”)
  • borðinu: BOR-thi-nu (the ð is like the th in this)
  • eftir: EF-tir (clear t)
  • kvöldmat: kvoelt-mat (rounded ö; final t is crisp)

If you want, tell me your dialect background (US/UK etc.) and I can tailor the sound approximations more closely.