Breakdown of Hann sýður grænmetið eftir að hann steikir kjötið á pönnu.
hann
he
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
kjötið
the meat
grænmetið
the vegetables
sjóða
to boil
eftir að
after (conjunction)
steikja
to fry
pannan
the pan
Questions & Answers about Hann sýður grænmetið eftir að hann steikir kjötið á pönnu.
Why do we need the að in eftir að?
eftir að is a conjunction used to connect two full actions (clauses with a subject and a verb). If you were just saying "after work" or "after the meat", you would use the preposition eftir followed directly by a noun. Because "he fries" (hann steikir) is a full action, we must use eftir að.
I can't find sýður in the dictionary. What is the infinitive?
The infinitive is sjóða (to boil). This is a strong verb that undergoes a vowel shift in the singular present tense. The jó changes to ý, making it hann sýður.
Why does the sentence use á pönnu instead of í pönnu for "in a pan"?
In English we fry things "in" a pan, but Icelandic thinks of the food as sitting on the flat surface of the pan. Because of this, you use the preposition á (on).
Why is it pönnu instead of the dictionary form panna?
The preposition á forces the following noun into the dative case when it describes a fixed location (the place where the frying is happening). For the feminine noun panna, the dative form is pönnu.
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