Breakdown of Sósan er á matseðlinum.
vera
to be
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
sósan
the sauce
matseðillinn
the menu
Questions & Answers about Sósan er á matseðlinum.
Why is matseðlinum in the dative case?
The preposition á (on) can take either the accusative or the dative case. When it describes a stationary location, like where something is resting, it takes the dative. Since the sauce is already on the menu, we use the dative case here.
How does the base word matseðill become matseðlinum?
Matseðill is a masculine noun. In the dative case, it changes to matseðli. Then, to say the menu instead of just a menu, we add the masculine dative definite article -num to the end, giving us matseðlinum.
Is sósan in the nominative case?
Yes! Sósa (sauce) is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative. It is a feminine noun, and to say the sauce we just add the feminine definite article -n to the end.
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