Yfirmanninum ber að rannsaka meiðslin.

Yfirmanninum is the dative singular definite form of yfirmaður, which means superior, manager, boss, officer in charge depending on context.

A few useful forms are:

• yfirmaður = a superior / manager
• yfirmaðurinn = the superior / the manager
• yfirmanninum = to/for the superior, or the superior in a dative construction

The ending -num is the definite dative singular ending here.

Because the expression bera einhverjum að + infinitive uses a dative noun phrase for the person who has the duty or obligation.

So in this sentence, Icelandic does not structure it like plain English the manager investigates... Instead, it is more like:

• it falls to the manager to investigate...
• the manager is obliged to investigate...
• it is incumbent on the manager to investigate...

That is why you get yfirmanninum rather than nominative yfirmaðurinn.

Here ber is the 3rd person singular present tense of bera in a special idiomatic use.

In this construction, bera einhverjum að gera eitthvað means:

• someone is obliged to do something
• someone has the duty to do something
• it is incumbent on someone to do something

So Yfirmanninum ber að rannsaka meiðslin means roughly:

• The superior has a duty to investigate the injuries.

Yes, it is the same verb historically and grammatically, but in this sentence it is part of a fixed idiomatic expression.

So although bera often means carry, bear, the phrase bera einhverjum að + infinitive should be learned as a unit with a special meaning: to be someone’s duty / obligation.

In other words, you should not try to translate ber literally as carries here.

Að rannsaka is the infinitive of the verb rannsaka, meaning to investigate.

After ber, Icelandic uses að + infinitive:

• ber að rannsaka = is obliged to investigate

This is very similar to English to investigate after expressions like has to or is supposed to, except that Icelandic uses the particle að before the infinitive.

Because after að in this construction, Icelandic uses the infinitive, not a finite verb form.

So:

• rannsaka = to investigate — correct here
• rannsakar = investigates — a present tense finite verb, not correct here

The sentence has only one finite verb: ber.

Meiðslin is the definite plural of meiðsli, meaning the injuries.

This noun is typically used in the plural in Icelandic. Its important forms are:

• meiðsli = injuries
• meiðslin = the injuries
• meiðslum = to/with injuries
• meiðslunum = the injuries, in the dative

In this sentence, meiðslin is the direct object of rannsaka.

Because rannsaka normally takes the accusative object, and for this noun the definite accusative plural is meiðslin.

So:

• rannsaka meiðslin = investigate the injuries
• meiðslunum would be dative, which does not fit here

This is a good example of how Icelandic case is often determined by the verb.

Usually, yes. Meiðsli is commonly treated as a plural noun in Icelandic, much like some English nouns that are often plural in form.

So even where English might sometimes say the injury, Icelandic may still use the plural noun meiðsli / meiðslin, depending on context.

For learners, the safest approach is to remember meiðsli as a noun normally used in the plural.

Icelandic main clauses usually follow the V2 rule, meaning the finite verb tends to come in the second position.

Here:

• first element: Yfirmanninum
• second element: ber

So the order is perfectly normal.

This sentence begins with the person who has the duty, which is natural and emphasizes who the obligation falls on. A different order may be possible in other contexts, but this one is very standard.

Not a normal nominative subject in the way English does.

Many grammars describe this kind of sentence as impersonal, or they say the dative noun phrase behaves like a quirky subject. In practical terms, the important thing for a learner is:

• the person responsible is in the dative
• the verb stays in 3rd person singular
• the obligation is expressed by ber að + infinitive

So even though yfirmanninum is not nominative, it is still the key participant in the sentence.

It usually sounds more formal and duty-based than ordinary should.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• is obliged to
• has the duty to
• must
• it is incumbent on ... to

It is especially common in formal, administrative, or legal-style language. So this sentence sounds stronger and more official than a casual suggestion.

Both can mean something like The manager is supposed to investigate the injuries, but the tone is different.

• Yfirmanninum ber að rannsaka meiðslin
  More formal, duty-based, official, even legal in tone.

• Yfirmaðurinn á að rannsaka meiðslin
  More everyday and general: the manager is supposed to investigate the injuries.

So ber að is often the more formal and institutional way to express obligation.

You put ekki after the finite verb:

• Yfirmanninum ber ekki að rannsaka meiðslin.

That means:

• The superior is not obliged to investigate the injuries.
• It is not the superior’s duty to investigate the injuries.

This follows the normal Icelandic placement of ekki after the finite verb in main clauses.