Þið stjórnið ekki sjálfum ykkur.

Breakdown of Þið stjórnið ekki sjálfum ykkur.

ekki
not
þið
you (plural)
ykkur
you all
sjálfur
self, oneself
stjórna
to control

Questions & Answers about Þið stjórnið ekki sjálfum ykkur.

Why are sjálfum and ykkur in the dative case here?
The verb stjórna (to control or manage) requires its object to be in the dative case. Since the object being controlled here is "yourselves", both pronouns must take the dative.
How does sjálfum agree with ykkur in this sentence?
The intensifying pronoun sjálfur must always agree in gender, number, and case with the word it emphasizes. Ykkur is the dative plural pronoun for "you". In the dative plural, sjálfur declines to sjálfum for all genders.
Could I just say Þið stjórnið ekki ykkur without sjálfum?
Grammatically yes, but using sjálfum ykkur adds the emphasis needed to clearly mean "your own selves." Without sjálfum, the sentence loses the strong contrast of "you do not control yourselves."
Why use ykkur for "yourselves" instead of a dedicated reflexive pronoun like sér?
In Icelandic, dedicated reflexive pronouns like sig, sér, and sín are only used for the third person (he, she, it, they). For the first and second persons, you simply reuse the regular object pronouns. Here, that is the second-person plural dative ykkur.

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