Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma.

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Breakdown of Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma.

• borðið: the table
• á: on
• áður en: before

Questions & Answers about Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma.

Why is the verb set and not setja?

Set is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb að setja meaning to put / to place / to set.

So:

• að setja = the infinitive, to put
• ég set = I put / I am putting

This is similar to English to come vs I come.

Why does the sentence start with Ég?

Ég means I and it is the subject of the sentence.

Icelandic usually states the subject explicitly, just like English does in normal sentences. So:

• Ég set ... = I put ...

You normally cannot just leave out ég the way you can in some languages.

Why is servíettur in that form?