Breakdown of Við þekkjum kokkinn sem vinnur á veitingastaðnum.
við
we
þekkja
to know
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
vinna
to work (general labor, to do work)
veitingastaðurinn
the restaurant
sem
who / which / that
kokkurinn
the chef
Questions & Answers about Við þekkjum kokkinn sem vinnur á veitingastaðnum.
Does the relative pronoun sem change form since it refers to a masculine noun (kokkinn)?
No! The beauty of sem (meaning "who", "which", or "that") is that it never changes form. It stays exactly the same regardless of the gender, number, or case of the noun it refers to. Here, it acts as the subject of the verb vinnur.
Why do we use þekkjum for "know" instead of vitum?
In Icelandic, þekkja is used when you are familiar with a person, place, or thing (like knowing a chef). You use vita when you know a fact or a piece of information.
Why does the word for "the chef" drop its -ur and become kokkinn?
kokkinn is the direct object of the verb þekkja, so it must be in the accusative case. The base word is kokkur (a masculine noun), which becomes kokkurinn (the chef) in the nominative subject form. In the accusative, the -ur is dropped, leaving kokkinn.
Why is veitingastaðnum in the dative case here?
The preposition á (at/on) takes the dative case when describing a static location. Because the chef is working at the restaurant (a stationary action), it triggers the dative ending -num on the masculine noun veitingastaður.
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