Breakdown of Hún leggur spilin á hvolf til þess að fela framhliðina.
hún
she
setja
to put
til þess að
in order to
fela
to hide
Questions & Answers about Hún leggur spilin á hvolf til þess að fela framhliðina.
What does leggur mean here?
Leggur is the present tense of leggja, which means to lay, put, place.
In this sentence, Hún leggur spilin á hvolf, it means that she places the cards in a certain position or orientation.
A useful comparison is:
- leggja = to lay/put something
- liggja = to lie / be lying
So here, because she is actively moving the cards, leggur is the right verb.
Why is it leggur and not liggur?
Because leggja and liggja are different verbs.
- leggja is transitive: someone puts or lays something
- liggja is intransitive: something lies or is lying somewhere
So:
- Hún leggur spilin á hvolf = She lays/puts the cards face down
- Spilin liggja á hvolfi = The cards are lying face down
English learners often mix these up because English lay and lie are also confusing.
What form is spilin?