Breakdown of Ég hreinsa lyklaborðið áður en ég byrja að vinna, því það er skítugt.
ég
I
vera
to be
það
it
vinna
to work
Questions & Answers about Ég hreinsa lyklaborðið áður en ég byrja að vinna, því það er skítugt.
Why is it lyklaborðið and not just lyklaborð?
Because lyklaborðið means the keyboard, while lyklaborð means a keyboard or just keyboard in a general sense.
Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.
- lyklaborð = keyboard
- lyklaborðið = the keyboard
So in this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific keyboard.
What case is lyklaborðið, and why?
It is the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of hreinsa.
The verb hreinsa means to clean, and the thing being cleaned is the object:
- Ég hreinsa lyklaborðið = I clean the keyboard
A useful detail: for many neuter singular nouns, the nominative and accusative forms are the same, so even though it is accusative here, it looks the same as nominative.
What does áður en mean, and how does it work?