Breakdown of Mér finnst maturinn vondur á þriðjudögum.
finnast
to find, to think
mér
me (dative)
maturinn
the food
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
vondur
bad (evil, mean, angry) / bad-tasting, nasty (of food)
þriðjudagur
Tuesday
Questions & Answers about Mér finnst maturinn vondur á þriðjudögum.
Why do we use the dative plural þriðjudögum after á here instead of the accusative?
When talking about days of the week, using á with the dative plural means the action happens regularly. So á þriðjudögum means on Tuesdays in general. If we used the accusative, like á þriðjudaginn, it would mean one specific Tuesday, like this coming Tuesday.
Why does the sentence start with Mér instead of Ég?
The verb finnast (to find or think) requires its subject to be in the dative case. Instead of saying I find the food bad, Icelandic grammar literally says To me, the food seems bad. Mér is the dative form of ég.
Why is the adjective vondur used instead of just vont?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because maturinn (the food) is a masculine singular noun in the nominative case, the adjective describing it must also be in its masculine singular nominative form, which is vondur.
What does the -st ending on finnst do?
It shows the verb is in the middle voice. The regular verb finna means to physically find a lost object. Adding the -st ending turns it into finnast, which is used to express an opinion, such as finding food bad or a movie good.
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