Questions & Answers about Barnið smakkaði súkkulaðið.
Why does the verb end in -aði in this sentence?
The verb is smakka (to taste), which is a Group 1 weak verb. These verbs are very regular. To show that the action happened in the past for a third-person subject like barnið (the child), we use the past tense suffix -aði, giving us smakkaði.
If I wanted to say "I tasted the chocolate" instead of the child, would the verb smakkaði change?
Actually, no! A helpful feature of Group 1 weak verbs in the past tense is that the "I" form (first person) and the "he/she/it" form (third person) are exactly the same. So "I tasted" is ég smakkaði, matching barnið smakkaði perfectly.
Both barnið and súkkulaðið end in -ið. Is that a coincidence?
Not a coincidence! In Icelandic, the word for "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun. Both barn (child) and súkkulaði (chocolate) are neuter nouns. The standard "the" suffix for neuter nouns is -ið, turning them into barnið (the child) and súkkulaðið (the chocolate).
Is the object súkkulaðið in a special case here because it is being tasted?
Yes, the verb smakka requires the thing being tasted to be in the accusative case, which marks the direct object. However, because súkkulaði is a neuter noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary form. The attached article -ið also stays the same in this case.
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