Breakdown of Þú lagar ljósið sjálfur og hringir ekki í rafvirkjann.
og
and
þú
you
ekki
not
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
laga
to fix
ljósið
the light
hringja
to call (by phone)
sjálfur
self, oneself
rafvirkinn
the electrician
Questions & Answers about Þú lagar ljósið sjálfur og hringir ekki í rafvirkjann.
Why is sjálfur in the nominative case here instead of matching ljósið?
The word sjálfur (yourself) emphasizes the subject of the sentence, þú (you). Since þú is doing the fixing and is in the nominative case, sjálfur must also be in the nominative. If it matched ljósið, it would mean the light itself was doing something!
Since þú is gender-neutral, how do we know to use the masculine sjálfur?
Doesn't the verb hringja (to ring/call) take the dative case? Why is rafvirkjann (the electrician) in the accusative?
The verb hringja on its own takes a dative object when you are ringing a physical bell (like hringja bjöllunni). However, when you mean 'to call someone on the phone', you must use the phrase hringja í. The preposition í in this specific phrase requires the accusative case, which is why we use the accusative form rafvirkjann.
What is the base form of rafvirkjann and how is this definite ending formed?
The base form is rafvirki (electrician), which is a weak masculine noun. In the accusative case, rafvirki becomes rafvirkja. To make it 'the electrician' (definite), we add the accusative masculine definite article -nn to the end, giving us rafvirkjann.
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