Questions & Answers about Hann missti af fundinum í gær.
What construction expresses the idea of “miss (fail to attend/catch)” here?
The meaning comes from the fixed combination missa af + dative. The verb missa on its own means “to lose/drop,” but when it’s followed by af it means “to miss (an event, bus, show, etc.).” So missti af is the past-tense form “missed (failed to attend/catch).”
Why is it fundinum and not another form like fundinn?
Because af governs the dative case. The noun fundur (a meeting) is masculine; its dative singular is fundi, and with the definite article it becomes fundinum (“the meeting” in dative).
- Nominative sg.: fundur
- Accusative sg.: fund
- Dative sg.: fundi
- Genitive sg.: fundar
- Definite dative sg.: fundinum (= fundi + the definite ending -num)
Could I say Hann missti fundinn instead?
No. missa fundinn would mean “lose the meeting” (nonsensical here) or “drop/lose” something. To mean “miss (not attend/catch) the meeting,” you must use missa af: missti af fundinum.
What tense and person is missti, and what are the other past forms?