Questions & Answers about Hann hreinsar borðið sjálfur.
What are the grammatical roles of each word?
- Hann = he (nominative singular subject, masculine)
- hreinsar = cleans (3rd person singular present of hreinsa)
- borðið = the table (accusative singular, definite)
- sjálfur = himself (emphatic adjective referring to the subject; nominative masculine singular agreeing with hann)
Why is there no separate word for the in borðið?
Icelandic typically marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun. borð = table; borðið = the table. There is no separate article before the noun like in English. For masculine nouns you might see -inn, for neuter like borð you see -ið.
Which case is borðið in here, and how do we know?
Accusative singular. It’s the direct object of the transitive verb hreinsa, which takes its object in the accusative. For the neuter noun borð, nominative and accusative look the same without the article, but with the definite article they’re both borðið. Context (it’s the object) tells you it’s accusative.
Could it be borðinu instead?
No. borðinu is dative singular definite. You use the dative after certain prepositions or with verbs that govern the dative. takes an accusative object, so is correct. Example of dative: = on the table (static location).