Breakdown of Lestu vísbendinguna sem er á borðinu, annars finnum við ekki lykilinn.
vera
to be
borðið
the table
ekki
not
við
we
lesa
to read
finna
to find
lykillinn
the key
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
sem
who / which / that
vísbendingin
the clue
annars
otherwise
Questions & Answers about Lestu vísbendinguna sem er á borðinu, annars finnum við ekki lykilinn.
Why does the verb finnum come right after annars, instead of saying annars við finnum?
The word annars (otherwise) acts as an adverb at the start of the second clause. Because Icelandic follows the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb finnum must come immediately after that adverb, which pushes the subject við to the third position.
Why does the word for "read" look like lestu here?
This is the imperative (command) form. To tell someone to do something, Icelandic attaches a version of the pronoun þú (you) directly to the verb stem. For the verb lesa, it attaches as -tu, becoming lestu (read!).
What are the parts that make up the word vísbendinguna?
The base noun is vísbending (a clue or hint), which conceptually combines vís (related to showing or pointing out) and bending (a pointing or gesture). The -una at the end is the feminine accusative definite article, making it "the clue".
Why is borðinu in the dative case here instead of the accusative?
The preposition á takes the dative case when describing a stationary location, meaning where something is right now. Because the clue is simply sitting on the table, it triggers the dative. If you were placing the clue onto the table, it would take the accusative case to show motion.
Why does lykilinn drop an L before the ending, when the dictionary form is lykill?
The dictionary form of the noun is lykill (key). When it becomes the direct object of the verb finnum (we find), it changes to the accusative case. The base word drops its second L before adding the masculine accusative definite article -inn, making it lykilinn (the key).
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