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### Passives with Dative Subjects

Some verbs involve two objects, like giving, showing, or offering something to someone. In the active voice, the person receiving the action is usually in the dative case, and the thing being given is in the accusative.

When we turn these sentences into the passive voice (e.g., "I was dealt the cards"), the dative receiver moves to the front of the sentence and acts as a quirky dative subject.

### Dual Agreement with Nominative Objects

Here is the catch: when the dative receiver becomes the subject, the thing being given, shown, or offered shifts into the **nominative** case, becoming a nominative object.

Because the subject is dative, the passive auxiliary verb (**vera**) and the past participle of the main verb (like **gefinn** or **sýndur**) cannot agree with it. Instead, they must agree in gender and number with the **nominative object**.

Let's look at a singular example. *Ásinn* (the ace) is a masculine noun. When "she" (dative) is dealt the ace (nominative), the verb *vera* is singular (*var*), and the participle *gefinn* takes the masculine singular nominative form.

{{item:1071995}}

If the nominative object is plural, the verb and participle must also be plural. Notice how *spilapeningarnir* (the chips, masculine plural) forces the verb to become *voru* and the participle *afhentur* to become *afhentir*.

{{item:1071991}}

Similarly, if the object is neuter plural, like *spilin* (the cards), the verb is plural and the participle changes to match the neuter plural form (*afhent*).

{{item:1071993}}

Here are a couple more examples from the casino floor showing how the subject stays locked in the dative case, while the verb and participle completely shift to match whatever is being offered or dealt.

{{item:1072002}}

{{item:1071989}}

Passives with dative subjects

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
the casino	spilavítið
We were offered cold drinks when we went into the casino.	Okkur voru boðnir kaldir drykkir þegar við fórum inn í spilavítið.
the casino chip	spilapeningurinn
I was handed the casino chips at the table.	Mér voru afhentir spilapeningarnir við borðið.
the dealer	gjafarinn
The dealer was handed the cards today.	Gjafaranum voru afhent spilin í dag.
the ace	ásinn
She was dealt the ace by the dealer.	Henni var gefinn ásinn af gjafaranum.
the jack	gosinn
They were shown the jack, but they wanted the ace.	Þeim var sýndur gosinn en þeir vildu ásinn.
the bet	veðmálið
We were offered new bets in the casino.	Okkur voru boðin ný veðmál í spilavítinu.
the profit	gróðinn
He was handed the profit after the game.	Honum var afhentur gróðinn eftir leikinn.
You were offered a bet at the table.	Þér var boðið veðmál við borðið.
the poker	pókerinn
The man was paid the profit in poker.	Manninum var borgaður gróðinn í póker.
The boys were dealt the ace and the jack.	Strákunum voru gefnir ásinn og gosinn.
I was shown the cards and the casino.	Mér voru sýnd spilin og spilavítið.
They were offered drinks in the casino.	Þeim voru boðnir drykkir í spilavítinu.
the roulette	rúllettan
I was given the chips at the roulette.	Mér voru gefnir spilapeningarnir við rúllettuna.
I was allowed the roulette but not the poker.	Mér var leyfð rúllettan en ekki pókerinn.
the deck of cards	spilastokkurinn
I was handed the deck of cards at half past eight.	Mér var réttur spilastokkurinn klukkan hálf níu.
the cheater	svindlarinn
The cheater was dealt some cards.	Svindlaranum voru gefin einhver spil.
One player was dealt the cards, but the other was handed the deck of cards.	Öðrum spilaranum voru gefin spilin, en hinum var réttur spilastokkurinn.
The cheater was dealt the queens.	Svindlaranum voru gefnar drottningarnar.
the luck	heppnin
I was given the ace, but the luck was not with me.	Mér var gefinn ásinn en heppnin var ekki með mér.
The cheater was given the chips because the luck was great.	Svindlaranum voru gefnir spilapeningarnir af því að heppnin var mikil.