Breakdown of Ég tengi símann við hleðslutækið, þannig að síminn virkar aftur.
ég
I
aftur
again
virka
to work
síminn
the phone
Questions & Answers about Ég tengi símann við hleðslutækið, þannig að síminn virkar aftur.
Why does sími appear twice, once as símann and later as síminn?
Because the sentence uses two different grammatical roles (and therefore two different cases):
- Ég tengi símann … → símann is the direct object of tengi (accusative).
- … þannig að síminn virkar aftur. → síminn is the subject of virkar (nominative).
Same noun, different case depending on its job in the clause.
What does tengi mean grammatically, and how is it formed?
tengi is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb tengja (to connect).
- infinitive: að tengja
- present (I): ég tengi
- present (you sg.): þú tengir
- present (he/she/it): hann/hún/það tengir
So Ég tengi … literally means I connect … / I am connecting … depending on context.
Why is it við hleðslutækið and not some other preposition?
In Icelandic, the verb tengja commonly takes:
- an object (what you connect) + við (what you connect it to)
So tengja X við Y = connect X to Y.
What case does við take here, and how can I tell?