Questions & Answers about Ég kveð vininn.
Why is "say goodbye to" translated as just one word, kveð?
In Icelandic, the verb kveðja means "to say goodbye to" or "to bid farewell." You don't need a separate preposition like "to" because the idea of directing the action at someone is already built into the verb itself.
Since the English translation says "to the friend", shouldn't the friend be in the dative case?
It is very common for English speakers to guess dative here because of the English word "to". However, the Icelandic verb kveðja strictly takes the accusative case for the person you are leaving.
How do we get the exact form vininn for "the friend"?
The dictionary form for "friend" is the masculine noun vinur. Because it is in the accusative case here, it drops the -ur ending to become vin. Then we attach the masculine accusative definite article (the word for "the"), which is -inn, making the final word vininn.
What is the dictionary form of the verb kveð?
The infinitive (dictionary form) is kveðja. In the present tense for ég (I), the -ja ending drops off completely, leaving just kveð.
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