Breakdown of Við berum bjórinn og þið fáið matinn.
og
and
þið
you (plural)
við
we
maturinn
the food
fá
to get
bera
to carry
bjórinn
the beer
Questions & Answers about Við berum bjórinn og þið fáið matinn.
Why does fáið have an 'á' when 'I get' is ég fæ?
This is a common pattern for strong verbs. In the present tense, the singular forms often change their vowel (like 'á' becoming 'æ' in ég fæ, þú færð, hann fær). But the plural forms usually go back to the original vowel from the infinitive (að fá). So for 'you all get', we take the root fá- and add the regular plural ending -ið to make fáið.
Is berum also a strong verb, and does its vowel change?
Bera (to carry) is a strong verb, but its vowel does not change in the present tense. The vowel stays 'e' in both the singular (ég ber) and the plural (við berum). In the present plural, strong verbs are very straightforward: they take the exact same endings as most regular verbs (-um for við, -ið for þið, and -a for þeir/þær/þau).
Why do both bjórinn and matinn end in '-inn'?
Both bjór (beer) and matur (food) are masculine nouns, and they are both direct objects here (the things being carried and received). This puts them in the accusative case. To say 'the beer' and 'the food', we add the masculine accusative definite article -inn. Notice that matur drops its dictionary -ur ending before adding -inn.
Why do we use þið instead of þú here?
Both mean 'you', but þú is singular (talking to one person) and þið is plural (talking to two or more people, like 'you all'). The sentence contrasts 'we' (við) carrying the drinks with a group of other people (þið) getting the food, which is why the plural pronoun and the plural verb form fáið are used.
Learn Við berum bjórinn og þið fáið matinn and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free