Questions & Answers about Maturinn var heitur.
Why do we use var for "was" in this sentence?
Var is the past tense of the verb vera (to be) used for "I", "he", "she", and "it". Because the subject maturinn (the food) acts as a single thing (third-person singular), we use var.
Where is the word for "the" in this sentence?
In Icelandic, "the" isn't a separate word before the noun. Instead, it is added to the end! The base word for "food" is matur. By adding the definite ending -inn, it becomes maturinn (the food).
Why is the adjective heitur instead of just heit or heitt?
Adjectives in Icelandic have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because matur is a masculine noun, the adjective for "hot" takes the masculine singular ending -ur, making it heitur.
If the subject was plural (like "the meals"), would we still use var?
No, var is only used for singular subjects (one person or thing). If you were talking about multiple things, you would switch to the plural form and use voru (were).
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