Questions & Answers about Ég elda hádegismatinn heima.
Why is the word for lunch hádegismatinn instead of just hádegismatur?
Two things are happening here. First, the sentence specifies the lunch, so we add the definite article (the suffix) to the end of the word. Second, the lunch is the direct object being cooked, so the word changes from its dictionary form to the accusative case. The accusative definite form of hádegismatur is hádegismatinn.
What does the word hádegismatur literally translate to?
It is a compound word made of three parts: há (high), degi (a form of day), and matur (food). So lunch in Icelandic is literally high-day-food, referring to the meal you eat when the sun is highest in the sky!
Why do we use heima for at home instead of heim?
Icelandic uses different adverbs depending on whether there is movement. Heima means stationary at home (no movement, just being there). You would use heim if you were traveling homewards (with movement). Since you are just staying in one place to cook, you use heima.
Is elda a tricky verb to conjugate?
Not at all! Að elda (to cook) is a regular verb in Icelandic. The ég (I) form is exactly the same as the infinitive without the að. Because cooking is an action done to something, it forces the next noun (the lunch) into the accusative case.
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