Breakdown of Bankinn er við hliðina á kirkjunni.
vera
to be
bankinn
the bank
kirkjan
the church
við hliðina á
next to (+ Dative)
Questions & Answers about Bankinn er við hliðina á kirkjunni.
Why is 'next to' translated as the long phrase við hliðina á?
It literally means 'by the side of'. Við means 'by', hliðina is the definite form of hlið (side), and á is used here like 'of' or 'on'. Together, they form a fixed, everyday phrase for 'next to'.
Why does the word for church, kirkja, become kirkjunni here?
Because of the preposition á. In this phrase, á forces the following noun into the dative case. Kirkja becomes kirkju in the dative, and when you add the feminine definite article ('the'), it becomes kirkjunni.
What case is hliðina (the side) in?
It is in the accusative case. The preposition við takes the accusative case when describing position or location. Since hlið is a feminine noun, its definite accusative form is hliðina.
Could I just say Bankinn er við kirkjuna to mean the same thing?
Yes, you could! Using just við means 'by' or 'next to' the church. But using við hliðina á is very natural in Icelandic and emphasizes that the bank is right at the side of the church.