Breakdown of Hún er vonsvikin með þessa skáldsögu.
vera
to be
hún
she
með
with
þessi
this (m/f)
skáldsagan
the novel
vonsvikinn
disappointed
Questions & Answers about Hún er vonsvikin með þessa skáldsögu.
Why does the preposition með trigger the accusative case here instead of the dative?
The preposition með can take either the accusative or the dative case. When used as a fixed preposition after adjectives expressing feelings (like vonsvikinn með for "disappointed with" or ánægður með for "pleased with"), it takes the accusative. It typically takes the dative when it means "together with" a person or "using" an object.
Why is the adjective spelled vonsvikin instead of its dictionary form vonsvikinn?
Adjectives must agree with the subject they describe in gender, number, and case. Because the subject Hún (she) is feminine, the masculine dictionary form vonsvikinn drops an -n to become the feminine form vonsvikin.
How do we know that þessa skáldsögu is in the accusative case?
The demonstrative pronoun þessi (this) becomes þessa in the feminine accusative singular. The noun skáldsaga is a weak feminine noun (meaning it ends in -a in its base form), and weak feminine nouns change their ending to -u in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases.
What is the literal translation of the word skáldsaga?
It is a compound word made of skáld (poet) and saga (story or history). In Icelandic, a "poet-story" is the standard word for a novel or a fictional book.
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