The Dative Absolute
When reading official press releases or formal bulletins in Icelandic, you will frequently encounter a sophisticated grammatical structure known as the dative absolute.
Similar to English constructions like "The meeting having ended" or "Other things being equal," this structure is used to establish timing, justification, or conditions at the start of a sentence. It is formed with the preposition að followed by a past participle and a noun, both in the dative case.
| Following the press conference, the board will send out the statement. | Að loknum blaðamannafundi mun stjórnin senda út yfirlýsinguna. |
| In light of recent events, we will send this statement in a week. | Að gefnu tilefni sendum við þessa yfirlýsingu eftir viku. |
| Other things being equal, this measure will be continued. | Að öðru óbreyttu verður þessari ráðstöfun haldið áfram. |
The participle typically comes directly after að, but the noun can also come first without changing the meaning.
| Following the elections, the board will be changed. | Að kosningum loknum verður stjórninni breytt. |
| Following consultation, we are changing this premise to reach the agreement. | Að höfðu samráði breytum við þessari forsendu til að ná samkomulaginu. |
| At the conclusion of the meeting, the minister lifted the rule that applied during the past decade. | Að loknum fundi aflétti ráðherrann reglunni sem gilti undanfarinn áratug. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io