Amman sagði að vofan hefði stolið lyklinum.
The grandmother said that the phantom had stolen the key.
Breakdown of Amman sagði að vofan hefði stolið lyklinum.
lykillinn
the key
amman
the grandmother
að
that (conjunction)
hafa
to have
segja
to say
stela
to steal
vofan
the phantom
Questions & Answers about Amman sagði að vofan hefði stolið lyklinum.
Why is hefði used here instead of the normal past tense hafði?
This sentence uses reported speech. By using the past subjunctive form hefði, you signal that you are just repeating the grandmother's claim. It emphasizes that this is hearsay or someone else's subjective statement, rather than an objective fact you are stating yourself.
Why is the key (lyklinum) in the dative case?
In Icelandic, the verb stela (to steal) always governs the dative case. The object being stolen must take the dative, which is why the masculine noun lykill becomes lyklinum.
What happened to the spelling of lykill when it became lyklinum?
The word lykill drops its second 'i' when certain endings are added. Instead of the clunky-sounding lykillinum, the vowel drops out to make pronunciation smoother, giving us lyklinum.
What is the base form of vofan?
The base word is vofa, a weak feminine noun meaning phantom or ghost. Adding the definite article suffix -n makes it vofan (the phantom).
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