Breakdown of Við sendum stráknum þennan vasareikni.
strákurinn
the boy
við
we
þessi
this (m/f)
senda
to send
Questions & Answers about Við sendum stráknum þennan vasareikni.
Why is stráknum in the dative case but þennan vasareikni in the accusative case?
The verb senda (to send) takes two objects. The person receiving the item (the indirect object) takes the dative case, so strákurinn becomes stráknum. The item being sent (the direct object) takes the accusative case, so þessi vasareiknir becomes þennan vasareikni.
Can I change the word order to match the English 'We send this calculator to the boy'?
Not normally. In Icelandic, the dative recipient (stráknum) almost always comes before the accusative item being transferred (þennan vasareikni). Unlike English, you do not use a preposition like 'to' because the dative case already shows who is receiving the item.
Why does vasareiknir (calculator) lose its -r at the end here?
Masculine nouns ending in -ir, like reiknir (calculator) or læknir (doctor), drop that final -r in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases. Since the calculator is the direct object here, it is in the accusative case, giving us vasareikni.
Why is the word for 'this' þennan?
The word þessi (this) must agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case. Because vasareikni is masculine, singular, and accusative, you must use the masculine accusative singular form, which is þennan.