Breakdown of Við héldum matarboð á laugardaginn.
við
we
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
halda
to think (believe)
laugardagur
Saturday
matarboðið
the dinner party
Questions & Answers about Við héldum matarboð á laugardaginn.
Why does the sentence use héldum (from halda) instead of the verb for to have (hafa)?
In English you have a party, but in Icelandic you hold an event. The verb halda is used for hosting parties, meetings, or gatherings. Here, héldum is the past tense meaning we held.
How is the word matarboð constructed?
It is a compound word made of matar (the genitive or possessive case of matur, meaning food) and boð (meaning an invitation or a party). Together they mean a dinner party.
matarboð is the direct object. Why doesn't it have a special accusative ending?
The base word boð is a neuter noun. In Icelandic, all neuter nouns have the exact same form in both the nominative (subject) and accusative (direct object) cases.
Why does laugardaginn have the definite article (-inn) when English just says on Saturday?
When talking about a specific day in the past or future, Icelandic uses the definite article. If you just said á laugardag without the article, it would mean on Saturdays in general.
Why is laugardaginn in the accusative case here?
The preposition á takes the accusative case when used with days of the week to express when something happened. It usually only takes the dative case when describing a physical location.
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