Breakdown of Ég heyri samverkamanninn lauma skjalatöskunni í bílinn.
bíllinn
the car
ég
I
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
heyra
to hear
samverkamaðurinn
the accomplice
lauma
to sneak
skjalataskan
the briefcase
Questions & Answers about Ég heyri samverkamanninn lauma skjalatöskunni í bílinn.
Why is samverkamanninn in the accusative case, and why is there no að before the verb lauma?
This is the Accusative with Infinitive construction that follows perception verbs like heyra (to hear) and sjá (to see). The person or thing you hear or see is put into the accusative case (here, samverkamaðurinn becomes samverkamanninn). The action they are performing is then expressed with a bare infinitive, meaning you just use the dictionary form of the verb (lauma) without the word að in front of it.
Why is skjalatöskunni (the briefcase) in the dative case here?
Because it is the object of the verb lauma (to sneak or slip something). In Icelandic, lauma requires the thing being sneaked to be in the dative case. Therefore, the feminine noun skjalataska takes its dative definite form, skjalatöskunni.
Why do we use the accusative bílinn after the preposition í?
The preposition í can take either the accusative or the dative case. It takes the dative when describing a stationary location (being inside the car), but it takes the accusative when describing movement from one place to another (putting something into the car). Since the briefcase is moving into the car, bíllinn changes to its accusative form, bílinn.
How do you break down the noun samverkamanninn?
The root word is samverkamaður (collaborator or accomplice). It is built from sam- (together or co-), verk (work or deed), and maður (man or person). The ending -manninn is just the accusative singular form of maður with the definite article attached to it.
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