Breakdown of Miðasalan er við hliðina á biðsalnum.
vera
to be
við hliðina á
next to (+ Dative)
biðsalurinn
the waiting room
miðasalan
the ticket office
Questions & Answers about Miðasalan er við hliðina á biðsalnum.
Why does biðsalnum take the dative case here?
It is the object of the multi-word preposition við hliðina á (next to). Specifically, the preposition á at the end dictates that the following noun must be in the dative case.
Are miðasalan and biðsalnum built from the same base word?
Let's break down the phrase við hliðina á. Why is it formed this way?
It literally translates to by the side of. Við means by, hliðina is the definite accusative form of hlið (side), and á connects it to the next noun. It is the standard way to say next to in Icelandic.