Breakdown of Við setjum hnetur og rúsínur ofan á hafragrautinn.
við
we
setja
to put
og
and
hafragrauturinn
the oatmeal
Questions & Answers about Við setjum hnetur og rúsínur ofan á hafragrautinn.
Why is the verb setjum and not the dictionary form setja?
Setja is the infinitive, meaning to put / to place.
In the sentence, the subject is við (we), so the verb has to be conjugated:
- ég set — I put
- þú setur — you put
- við setjum — we put
So Við setjum ... means We put ...
The ending -um is the normal present-tense ending for we with many Icelandic verbs.
What does við mean here?
Við means we.
It is the nominative plural form of the first-person pronoun, because it is the subject of the sentence — the people doing the action.
So:
- við = we
- okkur = us (in oblique cases, depending on structure)
Here, við is used because we are the ones putting the nuts and raisins on the porridge.
Why are hnetur and rúsínur in the plural?