Breakdown of Þjónninn vonar að gesturinn helli víninu sjálfur.
gesturinn
the guest (m)
að
that (conjunction)
þjónninn
the waiter
sjálfur
self, oneself
vona
to hope
hella
to pour
vínið
the wine
Questions & Answers about Þjónninn vonar að gesturinn helli víninu sjálfur.
Why is the verb helli used here instead of the regular present tense hellir?
It is in the present subjunctive form. The main verb vonar (hopes) expresses a wish or uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive mode in the following að (that) clause.
How is the present subjunctive formed for a Group 2 weak verb like hella?
You take the infinitive stem (hell-) and add the subjunctive endings. For almost all verbs, the singular subjunctive endings are -i, -ir, -i. Since gesturinn is third-person singular, we add -i to get helli.
Why is víninu in the dative case here?
The verb hella (to pour) requires its object to be in the dative case when you are talking about the liquid being poured. Because of this, the nominative vínið changes to the dative víninu.
Why does sjálfur (himself) take the nominative form instead of matching the dative víninu right before it?
Sjálfur describes who is doing the pouring, which is the subject gesturinn (the guest). Because gesturinn is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case, sjálfur must match those exact same grammatical features.
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