Learn Icelandic: Við pöntum pitsu á föstudögum.

Við pöntum pitsu á föstudögum.

We order pizza on Fridays.

Breakdown of Við pöntum pitsu á föstudögum.

við

onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)

Questions & Answers about Við pöntum pitsu á föstudögum.

Why is föstudögum in the dative case here instead of the accusative?

Because we are talking about a habit. When the preposition á is used with days of the week, it takes the dative case to mean "on Fridays" or "every Friday". If we were talking about one specific upcoming or past Friday, á would take the accusative case instead.

How does the base word föstudagur (Friday) change into föstudögum?

To make it plural and dative for "on Fridays", we add the ending -um. Whenever an ending has a "u" in it, it causes a vowel change called the U-shift. This shifts the a in -dagur to an ö, resulting in -dögum.

Why is the word for pizza spelled pitsu here instead of pitsa?

Pitsa is the base dictionary form. However, because the pizza is the direct object—the thing being ordered—it changes into the accusative case form, which is pitsu.

Why does the verb pöntum (order) have an ö when the base verb is panta?

Because the subject is við (we), the verb takes the -um ending. Just like with the days of the week, that "u" ending triggers a U-shift! The a in panta changes to an ö, making it pöntum.