Word
Þetta er kvæðið sem sungið var í veislunni.
Meaning
This is the poem which was sung at the feast.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Þetta er kvæðið sem sungið var í veislunni.
þetta
this
vera
to be
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
syngja
to sing
Questions & Answers about Þetta er kvæðið sem sungið var í veislunni.
Why is the word order sem sungið var instead of sem var sungið?
This is an example of stylistic fronting, which is the main focus of this lesson. In relative clauses starting with sem, Icelandic often moves the past participle (sungið) in front of the auxiliary verb (var). While sem var sungið is completely correct and normal in everyday speech, sem sungið var sounds slightly more formal or literary and is very common in written Icelandic.
Why is the participle in the form sungið rather than sunginn?
In Icelandic passive constructions, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject it refers to. Since it refers back to kvæðið (a neuter, singular noun), the participle of syngja must also be in its neuter singular form, which is sungið.
Why is veislunni in the dative case?
The preposition í takes the dative case when it describes a static location or an event where something is happening (meaning 'at' or 'in'). Since the singing took place at the feast, there is no movement towards a new destination, so the dative form veislunni is required.
Could I use ljóðið instead of kvæðið here?