Við leggjum spilin á hvolf.

we

Breakdown of Við leggjum spilin á hvolf.

• setja: to put
• spilið: the playing card
• á hvolf: face down; upside down

Questions & Answers about Við leggjum spilin á hvolf.

Why is the verb leggjum and not leggja?

Leggja is the dictionary form, the infinitive, meaning to lay / to put / to place. In the sentence, the subject is við meaning we, so the verb has to be conjugated.

So:

við leggjum = we lay / we put

This is the 1st person plural present tense form of leggja.

What exactly does leggja mean here?

In this sentence, leggja means something like lay, put, or place. With cards, natural English often uses lay:

Við leggjum spilin á hvolf.
= We lay the cards face down.

So it is not a special verb just for cards; it is a general verb for placing something down.

Why is it spilin? What does the ending -in mean?

Spilin means the cards.

The base noun is spil, a neuter noun. Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

spil = cards
spilin = the cards

That -in is the definite article here.

What case is spilin, and why?