Breakdown of Hún sér um matinn í dag.
hún
she
maturinn
the food
í dag
today
sjá um
to take care of, to be in charge of
Questions & Answers about Hún sér um matinn í dag.
Why is the verb sér (sees) used here when the translation says 'in charge of'?
In Icelandic, the verb sjá usually means 'to see'. However, when you combine it with the preposition um, it creates the phrasal verb sjá um, which means 'to take care of', 'to see to', or 'to be in charge of'.
Why is the word for food matinn instead of maturinn?
The preposition um makes the following noun take the accusative case. The basic dictionary form for 'the food' is maturinn. To make it accusative, the masculine noun matur drops the -ur to become mat. When you attach the accusative 'the' ending, it becomes matinn.
I know the verb for 'to see' is sjá. Why does it change to sér here?
Sjá is an irregular verb. While the dictionary form is sjá, the present tense form for 'he, she, or it' is sér. So, hún sér means 'she sees', which becomes 'she takes care of' when paired with um.
Does í dag literally translate to 'in day'?
Yes, exactly! Í dag is the standard Icelandic phrase for 'today', literally translating to 'in day'. You will see this pattern for other times too, like í kvöld for 'tonight' (literally 'in evening').
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