Breakdown of Börnin voru vön að taka vítamínin á morgnana.
vera
to be
barnið
the child
að
to (infinitive marker)
taka
to take
á morgnana
in the mornings
vanur
used to
vítamínið
the vitamin
Questions & Answers about Börnin voru vön að taka vítamínin á morgnana.
Why is the word for "used to" written as vön here instead of vanur?
In the habitual construction, vanur acts as an adjective and must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case. Since the subject börnin (the children) is neuter, plural, and nominative, the adjective changes to its neuter plural nominative form, vön.
English translates á morgnana as "in the morning", so why is it plural in Icelandic?
When expressing a recurring habit like "every morning" or "in the mornings", Icelandic uses the plural definite form á morgnana. Using a singular form would refer to one specific morning rather than a general routine.
Why is morgnana in the accusative case after the preposition á?
While the preposition á can take either the dative or accusative case depending on the context, time expressions that indicate a recurring time of day (like á morgnana or á kvöldin) always trigger the accusative case.
Why does the sentence use the definite vítamínin (the vitamins) when the English translation just says "vitamins"?
Icelandic frequently uses the definite article for general categories or expected daily items where English leaves them indefinite. Because taking them is a known routine, saying að taka vítamínin feels more natural here than the indefinite að taka vítamín.
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