Breakdown of Erfðir þú þetta frá móður þinni?
þetta
this
þú
you
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
frá
from
móðirin
the mother (formal register)
erfa
to inherit
Questions & Answers about Erfðir þú þetta frá móður þinni?
Why is the word for mother spelled móður here instead of móðir?
The preposition frá (from) forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. The word móðir is an irregular kinship noun, and its stem changes in the dative singular, making it móður.
Why is the word for your þinni and not þín?
Possessive words like þinn must match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Because móður is feminine, singular, and in the dative case, þinn takes the matching dative feminine singular form þinni.
Where does the word erfðir come from?
It is the past tense form of the verb erfa (to inherit). The -ðir ending specifically marks it as the past tense for the pronoun þú (you).
Why does the sentence begin with the verb erfðir?
To form a yes or no question in Icelandic, you put the verb first, followed by the subject. You just take the normal statement Þú erfðir þetta (You inherited this) and swap the first two words to make it Erfðir þú þetta?
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