Breakdown of Við bökum kökuna í ofninum áður en gesturinn kemur.
við
we
koma
to come
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
kakan
the cake
gesturinn
the guest (m)
baka
to bake
áður en
before
ofninn
the oven
Questions & Answers about Við bökum kökuna í ofninum áður en gesturinn kemur.
Why does the Icelandic word for "before" have two parts here (áður en)?
The conjunction for "before" is made up of áður (which means "earlier" or "previously") and en (which means "than"). So, you are literally saying that you will bake the cake "earlier than" the guest arrives!
Do I always need to add en after áður?
You need en when you are introducing a new action, like "before [the guest arrives]". If you just want to say "I have done this before" or "earlier" without adding another action, you use áður on its own.
Why does kaka (cake) turn into kökuna?
First, kaka is the direct object of the verb bökum (bake), so it changes to the accusative case, becoming köku. Then, we add the feminine definite article for "the", which is -na for this case, giving us kökuna (the cake).
Why is "in the oven" í ofninum instead of í ofninn?
The preposition í (in) takes the dative case when it describes a fixed location (where something is happening), but the accusative case when it describes movement into something. Since the cake is staying inside the oven to bake, it is a fixed location, so we use the dative form ofninum.
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