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Að lokum borðuðum við köku.

Að lokum borðuðum við köku.
Finally we ate cake.
From Lesson 217:Að halda kynningu — structuring a talk·Icelandic

Breakdown of Að lokum borðuðum við köku.

við
we
borða
to eat
kakan
the cake
að lokum
finally

Questions & Answers about Að lokum borðuðum við köku.

Why is the word order borðuðum við instead of við borðuðum?
Icelandic strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. Since the sentence starts with the adverbial phrase Að lokum (finally), the verb borðuðum must come immediately after it to take the second position in the sentence. This pushes the subject við to the third position.
Why does the word lok (end) take the form lokum in the phrase Að lokum?
The phrase að lokum means 'finally' or 'in the end'. The preposition að dictates that the following noun must be in the dative case. Lokum is the dative plural form of the neuter noun lok.
Why does the word for cake change from kaka to köku here?
There are two things happening here. First, the verb borða (to eat) takes a direct object in the accusative case. For weak feminine nouns like this one, the accusative ending is U, which replaces the A. Second, because of a rule called U-mutation, that new U at the end of the word reaches back and changes the root vowel A into an Ö. Therefore, kaka becomes köku.

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