Questions & Answers about Mér líður sæmilega í dag.
Why does the sentence start with Mér instead of Ég?
The verb líða (to feel) is an impersonal verb. In Icelandic, these verbs usually take a subject in the dative case instead of the nominative case. So, rather than saying "I feel", you use Mér (the dative form of I) to say something closer to "It feels to me".
If I want to say "We feel", would the verb líður change its ending?
No, it stays exactly the same. Because líða is an impersonal verb, it is always conjugated in the 3rd-person singular form (the "it" form). You just change the dative pronoun at the start. "We feel" is Okkur líður.
Is sæmilega a common word to use when talking about feelings?
Yes! Sæmilega is an adverb meaning "reasonably", "fairly", or "so-so". If someone asks how you are doing, it is a very natural, modest way to say you are feeling decent or okay, without being overly enthusiastic.
Why is "today" translated as two words, í dag?
In Icelandic, "today" is expressed using a phrase that literally translates to "in day". It uses the preposition í followed by dag, which is the accusative case of dagur (day). You will see this same two-word pattern in time expressions like í kvöld (tonight).
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