Breakdown of Við göngum heim saman eftir kvöldmat.
Questions & Answers about Við göngum heim saman eftir kvöldmat.
Can you break the sentence down word by word?
Doesn’t við also mean with sometimes?
Yes. við can be:
- a pronoun meaning we
- a preposition with meanings like with, by, or at, depending on context
Here it means we because it is the subject of the sentence and comes right before the verb göngum.
So in this sentence:
- Við göngum ... = We walk ...
not With walk ...
Why is it göngum and not ganga?
Because Icelandic verbs change form depending on the subject.
The basic verb is að ganga = to walk.
But with við = we, you need the 1st person plural present form:
- við göngum = we walk
So ganga is the dictionary form / infinitive, while göngum is the form that matches we.
The vowel change is just part of this verb’s pattern, so this is something you mostly learn with the verb itself.
Why isn’t there a word for to, as in walk home? What exactly is heim?
In this sentence, heim works as an adverb meaning home or homeward.
Icelandic often says:
- fara heim = go home
- koma heim = come home
- ganga heim = walk home
So you do not need a separate word meaning to before heim.
The idea of movement toward home is already built into heim here.
What does saman add to the sentence? Could I leave it out?
saman means together.
It tells you that the people are walking home as a group. If you remove it, the sentence still works:
- Við göngum heim eftir kvöldmat. = We walk home after dinner.
That version just doesn’t explicitly say that they do it together.
So saman is optional for grammar, but important for meaning.
Why is it eftir kvöldmat? What case does eftir take here?
Here eftir means after in a time sense, and in that use it takes the dative.
So kvöldmat is functioning as dative singular here.
A detail that often confuses learners: with kvöldmatur, the accusative singular and dative singular look the same:
- accusative: kvöldmat
- dative: kvöldmat
So even though the form does not change visibly, the case is still dative after eftir in this sentence.
Why is there no the before kvöldmat?
Because Icelandic, like English, often uses meal words without an article when speaking generally.
So:
- eftir kvöldmat = after dinner
This is the normal general expression.
If you said eftir kvöldmatinn, that would mean something more like:
- after the dinner
- after that specific dinner
So the version without the article is the natural one for a general routine or event.
Why is the order heim saman? Could I also say saman heim?
Yes, word order with adverbs is somewhat flexible in Icelandic.
The given sentence:
- Við göngum heim saman eftir kvöldmat.
is natural, and it groups the ideas as:
- walk home together
- after dinner
But you can also hear:
- Við göngum saman heim eftir kvöldmat.
That is also natural and means essentially the same thing.
So heim saman is not the only possible order. The sentence you were given is a normal Icelandic way to say it, but adverb placement can vary.
Does the present tense here mean we walk home regularly, or we are walking home now?
It can mean either, depending on context.
Icelandic present tense often covers both:
- a habitual meaning: We walk home together after dinner
- a current meaning: We’re walking home together after dinner
Usually the situation makes it clear.
If you want to make right now more obvious, Icelandic can add context words such as núna (now) or use other constructions, but the simple present by itself is very common.
What is the dictionary form of kvöldmat?
The dictionary form is kvöldmatur.
That is a masculine noun meaning dinner / evening meal.
In the sentence, you see kvöldmat instead of kvöldmatur because the noun is not in the nominative dictionary form. After eftir, it appears in the required case form, which here is dative singular, though it happens to look the same as the accusative singular.
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