Við metum kostnaðinn.

We assess the cost.

Breakdown of Við metum kostnaðinn.

• við: we
• kostnaðinn: the cost
• meta: to evaluate; assess

Questions & Answers about Við metum kostnaðinn.

What does við mean here? I thought við could also be a preposition.

Yes — við can be either:

• the pronoun we
• or a preposition with meanings like with, against, by, depending on context

In Við metum kostnaðinn, it means we because it is the subject of the verb metum.

So here the structure is:

• Við = subject
• metum = verb
• kostnaðinn = object

As a preposition, við would normally be followed by a noun phrase, for example við húsið.

What is the dictionary form of metum?

The dictionary form is meta.

Metum is the 1st person plural present tense form, so it means we estimate / we assess / we evaluate, depending on context.

A useful way to think of it is:

• að meta = to estimate / assess / evaluate
• við metum = we estimate / assess / evaluate

Why does metum end in -um?