Questions & Answers about Á morgnana borðar hann brauð með hunangi, en ég vil frekar sultu.
What does Á morgnana mean, and how is it different from á morgun?
Á morgnana means in the mornings or every morning / on mornings in general.
This is different from á morgun, which means tomorrow.
So:
- á morgun = tomorrow
- á morgnana = in the mornings
That difference is very important, because they look similar but mean different things.
Why is the word order Á morgnana borðar hann and not Á morgnana hann borðar?
Because Icelandic main clauses usually follow a verb-second pattern.
That means the finite verb normally comes in the second position of the clause. If you begin with a time expression like Á morgnana, the verb comes next, and the subject follows it:
- Hann borðar brauð... = He eats bread...
- Á morgnana borðar hann brauð... = In the mornings, he eats bread...
So borðar comes before hann because Á morgnana has taken the first position.
What form is borðar?
Borðar is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of að borða (to eat).
A few present-tense forms are:
- ég borða = I eat
- þú borðar = you eat
- hann borðar = he eats
Since the subject here is hann (he), borðar is the correct form.
Why is it brauð and not brauðið?
Brauð means bread in a general or indefinite sense.
Brauðið would mean the bread, referring to a specific bread.
In this sentence, the idea is general: he eats bread with honey. So the bare noun brauð is the natural choice.
Where is the word for a or some?
There isn’t one here because Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English a/an.
So Icelandic often just uses the noun by itself:
- brauð = bread / some bread
- hunang = honey / some honey
- sulta = jam / some jam
English often needs a, an, or some, but Icelandic usually does not.
Why does hunang become hunangi after með?
Because með (with) takes the dative case.
The base form is hunang (honey), but after með it changes to the dative singular hunangi:
- hunang = honey
- með hunangi = with honey
So the ending changes because of the preposition.
What does vil frekar mean exactly?
Literally:
- vil = want
- frekar = rather
Together, vil frekar often means would rather or prefer.
So:
- ég vil frekar sultu = I would rather have jam / I prefer jam
It is a very natural way to express preference.
Why is sultu not sulta?
Because sultu is the accusative singular form of sulta.
The dictionary form is:
- sulta = jam
But here it is the direct object of the verb vil (want), so it appears in the accusative:
- ég vil sultu = I want jam
This is common with many feminine nouns ending in -a: they often change to -u in the accusative singular.
Is sultu the object of frekar or of vil?
It is the object of vil.
Frekar is an adverb meaning rather, and it modifies the idea of preference. It does not assign the case. The accusative comes from the verb vilja (to want), which can take a direct object.
So in ég vil frekar sultu:
- vil = main verb
- frekar = adverb
- sultu = direct object of vil
Does ég vil frekar sultu sound incomplete without repeating more words?
No, it sounds natural because the rest is understood from context.
The first half says:
- hann borðar brauð með hunangi = he eats bread with honey
Then the second half contrasts with that:
- en ég vil frekar sultu = but I’d rather have jam
Icelandic, like English, often leaves out words that are easy to understand from the context. A fuller version might repeat more, but the shorter version is perfectly normal.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning IcelandicMaster Icelandic — from Á morgnana borðar hann brauð með hunangi, en ég vil frekar sultu to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions