við

By, At and to (Við)

Level 2

The preposition við + accusative means by or at: við gluggann (by the window). With tala it means to: Ég talaði við Önnu.

How It Works

By, at, against. við places something close to or touching something else:

  • Hann situr við gluggann. (He is sitting by the window.)
  • Þau búa við sjóinn. (They live by the sea.)
  • Stiginn stendur upp við vegginn. (The ladder is standing against the wall.)

Verbs with við. Learn these as whole phrases (verbs with fixed prepositions):

  • tala við (talk to): Ég talaði við Önnu.
  • gera við (repair): Ég þarf að gera við bílinn.
  • búast við (expect): Ég bjóst við því (I expected that).

In questions, við can go to the end: Hvern ertu að tala við? (Who are you talking to?) See prepositions at the end.

Case. In the place meaning and in tala við and gera við, við takes the accusative. Some fixed phrases take the dative instead, such as búast við því (expect that), taka við einhverju (receive something) and lyf við kvefi (medicine for a cold). Learn those together with the phrase.

Two words, one spelling. Við sátum við borðið means "We sat at the table": the first við is the pronoun we, and the second is the preposition. The place-phrase við hliðina á (next to) is covered in prepositions of place.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég talaði við Önnu í gær.

    I talked to Anna yesterday.

    Word by Word: I talked with Anna in yesterday.

    Önnu is the accusative of Anna.

  2. Hann situr við gluggann.

    He's sitting by the window.

    Word by Word: He sits by the window.

  3. Við sátum við borðið og spjölluðum.

    We sat at the table and chatted.

    Word by Word: We sat at the table and chatted.

    The first við means we; the second is the preposition at.

  4. Þau búa við sjóinn.

    They live by the sea.

    Word by Word: They live by the sea.

  5. Hvern ertu að tala við?

    Who are you talking to?

    Word by Word: Whom are-you to talk with?

    hvern is accusative because við takes the accusative.

  6. Ég þarf að gera við bílinn.

    I need to fix the car.

    Word by Word: I need to do with the car.

Common Mistakes

  • Using með for "talk with", as in Danish, Swedish or English "talk with".

    Ég talaði með Önnu.
    Ég talaði við Önnu.

    In Icelandic you talk to someone with tala við. með means together with, not speaking to.

  • Putting the noun in the dative after við when it means "by".

    Hann situr við glugganum.
    Hann situr við gluggann.

    In the meaning "by, at", við takes the accusative: gluggann.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

viðLevel 2By, At and to (Við)

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við builds on the accusative.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

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