Breakdown of Búðin er nálægt bankanum.
vera
to be
búðin
the shop
bankinn
the bank
nálægt
near, close by (+ Dative)
Questions & Answers about Búðin er nálægt bankanum.
Why is bankanum in the dative case here?
The word nálægt (near) is a preposition that forces the noun following it to take the dative case.
How do you build the word bankanum from the dictionary word banki?
Banki is a masculine noun. In the dative case, it changes to banka. To say "the bank", you add the dative masculine definite article -num. When you put them together, banka and -num combine into bankanum.
Why does búðin end with -in?
Búð (shop) is a feminine noun. Because it is the subject of the sentence, it is in the nominative (default) case. The -in ending is the feminine singular definite article, making it "the shop".
Does nálægt change its ending depending on the noun it is near?
Not here! While there is a related adjective (nálægur), in this sentence nálægt acts as a preposition meaning "near". Prepositions do not change their forms to match nouns.
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