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Gætirðu lagað mótorinn fyrir mig?

Gætirðu lagað mótorinn fyrir mig?
Could you fix the motor for me?
From Lesson 201:The past subjunctive for weak verbs·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Gætirðu lagað mótorinn fyrir mig?

Since we're learning the past subjunctive of weak verbs, why isn't laga in the past subjunctive here?
In this sentence, the strong auxiliary (helping) verb geta takes the past subjunctive form to make a polite request: gætir (could). The verb geta always forces the main verb that follows it into the supine form (sagnbót). Because gætir is already doing the subjunctive job, the weak verb laga (to fix) appears in its regular supine form, lagað.
What does the -ðu at the end of Gætirðu mean?
It is the pronoun þú (you) attached directly to the verb. When a verb ends in -r and is immediately followed by þú, the þ softens into a ð and merges with the verb. So Gætir þú becomes the much more natural-sounding and common Gætirðu.
Why is mótorinn in the accusative case here?
The verb laga (to fix) takes a direct object in the accusative case. Since mótor (motor) is a masculine noun, its accusative form with the attached definite article is mótorinn. Note that the nominative and accusative forms for mótorinn happen to look exactly the same!
Why do we use mig (accusative) instead of mér (dative) after fyrir?
The preposition fyrir can take either the accusative or the dative case depending on its meaning. When it means doing something on behalf of or for the benefit of someone, it takes the accusative case. Therefore, we use mig (me) instead of the dative mér.

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