Breakdown of Honum leiðist alltaf í skólanum.
skólinn
the school
alltaf
always
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
honum
him (dative)
leiðast
to be bored (mér leiðist)
Questions & Answers about Honum leiðist alltaf í skólanum.
Why does the sentence start with Honum (him) instead of Hann (he)?
In Icelandic, some verbs describe feelings or states that happen to you, rather than actions you actively do. These are called impersonal verbs. The verb leiðast (to be bored) requires its subject to be in the dative case. So instead of the nominative hann (he), we must use the dative form honum.
What is the -st ending on the verb leiðist?
The -st ending marks the middle voice. It often changes the meaning of a verb, sometimes making it reflexive or passive. Here, the root verb leiða means 'to lead', but adding the -st ending creates leiðast, which is an impersonal verb meaning 'to be bored'.
Why is skólanum in the dative case here?
The preposition í (in/at) takes the dative case when describing a stationary position or state, such as just being at school. If you were talking about movement into a place, like walking into the school building, í would take the accusative case instead.
How does the word skólanum break down?
It is the dative, singular, definite form of the masculine noun skóli (school). The basic dative form is skóla, and adding the definite article suffix -num makes it skólanum (the school).
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