Breakdown of Hvar er þjónninn sem kom með matinn?
vera
to be
koma
to come
hvar
where
maturinn
the food
með
with
sem
who / which / that
þjónninn
the waiter
Questions & Answers about Hvar er þjónninn sem kom með matinn?
Does the word sem change depending on whether it means who, which, or that?
No, sem is very flexible and never changes its spelling. You use it for people (who) or things (which/that), no matter their gender, case, or number. Here, it simply means who, pointing back to þjónninn.
Is sem the subject or the object of the action in this sentence?
Here, sem is the subject of the second part of the sentence because it refers to the person doing the action (bringing the food). Even if it were the object (for example, the waiter who I saw), Icelandic still uses the exact same word sem, which makes relative pronouns much simpler than in many other languages!
Why does the sentence use kom með instead of a single word for brought?
Icelandic uses the phrase að koma með, which literally means to come with, to express the idea of bringing something. Since the action happened in the past, the verb koma changes to its past tense form, kom.
Why is the word for food written as matinn instead of maturinn?
The phrase að koma með requires the thing being brought to be in the accusative case. The word matur (food) is a masculine noun, and its definite accusative form (meaning the food) is matinn.
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