Breakdown of Kennarinn stjórnar sjálfum sér mjög vel.
kennarinn
the teacher
mjög
very
vel
well
sér
himself/herself/themselves (dat)
sjálfur
self, oneself
stjórna
to control
Questions & Answers about Kennarinn stjórnar sjálfum sér mjög vel.
Why are we using the dative sér instead of the accusative sig for "himself"?
The verb stjórna (to control or manage) always takes a dative object. Since the teacher is controlling himself, the reflexive pronoun must be in the dative case (sér) rather than the accusative (sig).
Why add sjálfum here? Couldn't we just say "Kennarinn stjórnar sér mjög vel"?
How do we know to use the form sjálfum instead of another form of sjálfur?
The intensifying pronoun sjálfur has to agree with the noun it refers back to in gender, number, and case. It refers back to kennarinn (a masculine, singular noun), and it must be in the dative case to match sér. The masculine, singular, dative form is sjálfum.
If the teacher were a woman, would we change sjálfum to a feminine form?
No, it would stay exactly the same. The noun kennari (teacher) is grammatically masculine. Adjectives and pronouns like sjálfur must agree with the grammatical gender of the noun they describe, regardless of the actual person's biological gender.
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