Ég leita að svari.

I am looking for an answer.

Breakdown of Ég leita að svari.

• ég: I
• leita að: to look for
• svar: the answer

Questions & Answers about Ég leita að svari.

What does each word in Ég leita að svari mean literally?

Ég = I
leita = search/look
að = for (preposition)
svari = answer (dative singular of svar)

Why is að used here and what role does it play?

Here að is a preposition meaning for, not the infinitive marker. The verb leita (‘to search/look’) requires að when introducing the thing you’re looking for. After this að, the noun must be in the dative case.

Why is svar in the dative case (svari) instead of the nominative?

Because the preposition að (in the sense ‘search for’) governs the dative case. So svar becomes svari when it follows að.

What is the gender and declension pattern of svar?

Svar is a neuter noun. Its indefinite singular forms are:
– Nominative/Accusative: svar
– Dative: svari
– Genitive: svars

How would I say (i.e. a specific answer) instead of ?