Breakdown of Kaffið er frítt fyrir gesti.
vera
to be
kaffið
the coffee
gesturinn
the guest (m)
fyrir
for (fyrir þig)
frír
free (of charge)
Questions & Answers about Kaffið er frítt fyrir gesti.
Why use frítt here instead of frjálst?
In Icelandic, frír (which becomes frítt here to match the neuter noun kaffið) specifically means 'free of charge'. If you want to say someone is 'free' as in independent, liberated, or having free will, you would use the adjective frjáls.
Why does frítt have a double T at the end?
The adjective frír has to agree with the neuter noun kaffið in gender, number (singular), and case (nominative). For adjectives where the root ends in a vowel, the neuter form usually takes the -tt ending.
Does the preposition fyrir always trigger the accusative case, as it does here with gesti?
No, fyrir can take either the accusative or the dative case depending on its meaning. When it means 'for' (indicating an intended recipient or beneficiary), it takes the accusative case, which is why we use the accusative plural gesti here. If it meant 'in front of' or 'ago', it would take the dative case.
What is the dictionary form of gesti, and why does it drop the R at the end?
The dictionary form is gestur (guest), which is a masculine noun. The sentence refers to 'guests' in the plural, so we start with the nominative plural gestir. However, because the preposition fyrir forces the accusative case here, it changes to the accusative plural form gesti, dropping the R.
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