Questions & Answers about Hurðin lokaðist skyndilega.
Wait, doesn't the verb loka take the dative case? Why is hurðin in the nominative here?
Yes, the active verb loka usually takes a dative object (like Ég loka hurðinni - I close the door). However, when we use the middle voice -st ending to show a spontaneous action, the thing being closed becomes the subject of the sentence. Subjects take the nominative case, so the dative hurðinni changes back to the nominative hurðin.
Does lokaðist mean someone closed the door, or that it closed by itself?
It means it closed on its own, like from a gust of wind. The -st ending here gives the verb a spontaneous meaning. If you wanted to say that a person closed it without naming them, you would use the active voice with a generic subject, such as Einhver lokaði hurðinni (Someone closed the door).
How exactly is the form lokaðist built?
You start with the regular active past tense. The third-person singular past tense of loka is lokaði. To make it a middle voice verb, you just add -st to that active form, giving you lokaðist.
Why does skyndilega end in -a?
Skyndilega is an adverb meaning suddenly, because it describes how the door closed. In Icelandic, you can often turn an adjective into an adverb just by taking the adjective stem (in this case skyndilegur, meaning sudden) and adding or changing the ending to -a.
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