Breakdown of Ég þurrka af skjánum áður en ég svara skilaboðum.
ég
I
svara
to answer
áður en
before
þurrka af
to wipe off
Questions & Answers about Ég þurrka af skjánum áður en ég svara skilaboðum.
Why is it skjánum (with -num) and not something like skjáinn?
Because af is a preposition that normally governs the dative case in Icelandic. So skjár (screen) becomes skjánum = the screen (dative singular, definite).
- skjár (nom. sg.)
- skjá (acc. sg.)
- skjá (dat. sg.)
- skjánum (dat. sg. definite)
So af skjánum literally means something like off/from the screen (with the screen in dative).
What does þurrka af mean as a verb phrase? Is af part of the verb?
Yes—þurrka af is a very common combination meaning to wipe off / wipe (a surface).
- þurrka on its own is to dry or to wipe (depending on context).
- Adding af often makes it specifically about wiping off a surface: þurrka af borðinu (wipe the table / wipe off the table), þurrka af skjánum (wipe the screen).
It’s similar to English wipe vs wipe off.
Could I also say Ég þurrka skjáinn? What’s the difference?