Breakdown of Pípulagningamaðurinn ætlar að laga vaskinn sjálfur.
að
to (infinitive marker)
ætla
to intend
laga
to fix
vaskurinn
the sink
sjálfur
self, oneself
pípulagningamaðurinn
the plumber
Questions & Answers about Pípulagningamaðurinn ætlar að laga vaskinn sjálfur.
Why is sjálfur at the end of the sentence in the nominative case?
Sjálfur is an intensifying pronoun that always matches the gender, number, and case of the noun it refers to. Here, it refers to the subject, pípulagningamaðurinn (the plumber), which is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case. So we use the masculine singular nominative form, sjálfur.
What if we changed sjálfur to the accusative sjálfan? How would that change the meaning?
That would completely change the meaning! If you used the accusative form sjálfan, it would agree with the object vaskinn (the sink). The sentence would then mean 'The plumber is going to fix the sink itself' (perhaps as opposed to fixing the pipes around it). Because we want to say the plumber himself is doing the work, it must agree with the plumber.
Pípulagningamaðurinn is a very long word. How is it built?
Icelandic loves to build new words by sticking smaller ones together. This one is a compound made of three parts: pípa (pipe), lagning (laying or installation), and maðurinn (the man). So a plumber is literally a 'pipe-laying-man'!
Why does the word for sink (vaskur) become vaskinn here?
The verb laga (to fix) forces its object into the accusative case. Vaskur is a masculine noun, and its accusative form with the definite article ('the') attached is vaskinn.
Learn Pípulagningamaðurinn ætlar að laga vaskinn sjálfur and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free