Breakdown of Okkur voru boðin ný veðmál í spilavítinu.
vera
to be
nýr
new
við
we
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
bjóða
to invite
spilavítið
the casino
veðmálið
the bet
Questions & Answers about Okkur voru boðin ný veðmál í spilavítinu.
Why are we using the plural verb voru if the dative subject Okkur usually takes a default 3rd-person singular verb?
How did bjóða turn into boðin, and why that specific ending?
Boðin is the past participle of the strong verb bjóða (to offer). In this passive structure, the participle must agree with the nominative object in gender, number, and case. Since veðmál is a neuter plural noun in the nominative case, the participle takes the neuter plural form boðin to match it.
Veðmál looks like a singular noun. How do we know it means 'bets' (plural) here?
Veðmál is a neuter noun. Neuter nouns that end in a consonant often look exactly the same in the nominative singular and nominative plural. We know it is plural in this sentence because the surrounding words agree with a plural noun: the adjective ný, the plural verb voru, and the plural participle boðin.
Why does spilavítinu take the dative case after í?
The preposition í governs the dative case when it describes a static location (where something is or happens). Since the offering happened statically inside the casino, we use the dative form of spilavíti with the attached definite article, giving us spilavítinu.
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