Breakdown of Við heimsækjum ömmu á sunnudaginn.
við
we
heimsækja
to visit
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
amman
the grandmother
sunnudagur
Sunday
Questions & Answers about Við heimsækjum ömmu á sunnudaginn.
We are learning about using á with the accusative or dative. Which one is sunnudaginn, and why?
Sunnudaginn is in the accusative case. When you use á + the accusative for a day of the week, it means an upcoming, specific day (like "this Sunday"). If you used the dative case instead, it would mean a recurring event (like "every Sunday" or "on Sundays").
Why does the sentence use sunnudaginn (the Sunday) instead of just sunnudag (Sunday)?
When Icelandic uses á + the accusative to talk about the next or upcoming day of the week, the definite article (-inn) is attached to the end of the day. To say "this Sunday," you literally say "on the Sunday."
Why is the word for grandma ömmu here instead of the dictionary form amma?
The verb heimsækja (to visit) forces the person being visited into the accusative case as the direct object. For a feminine noun that ends in -a like amma, the ending changes from -a to -u in the accusative case.
The verb heimsækjum is quite long. Is it a compound word?
Yes! It comes from the infinitive heimsækja, which is a combination of heim (home) and sækja (to seek). In Icelandic, visiting someone is literally "seeking them home." The -um ending is simply the standard present tense ending for við (we).
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