Breakdown of Ég heyrði fótatakið vel, en var nokkur á ganginum?
vera
to be
ég
I
en
but
vel
well
heyra
to hear
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
nokkur
anybody / any
fótatakið
the footstep
gangurinn
the hallway
Questions & Answers about Ég heyrði fótatakið vel, en var nokkur á ganginum?
Why does nokkur mean "anybody" in this sentence instead of "some"?
While nokkur can mean "some" or "a few" in positive statements, it changes meaning in questions and negative contexts. When you ask a question like var nokkur (was anybody), it acts as an indefinite pronoun meaning "any" or "anybody". It uses the masculine singular form here as the grammatical default when referring to an unknown person.
Why is the object fótatakið in the accusative case?
The verb heyra (to hear) always forces its object into the accusative case. The base word is fótatak (footstep), which is a neuter noun. For neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative forms are identical, which is why the definite form is simply fótatakið here.
Why does the Icelandic sentence use á (on) instead of í (in) for "in the hallway"?
Prepositions often do not translate word-for-word. In Icelandic, you use á (on) with gangur (hallway or corridor) because you are traditionally thought of as standing "on" the passage, rather than enclosed "in" it.
Why is ganginum in the dative case after á?
The preposition á can take either the accusative or dative case. It takes the dative when describing a stationary location or state, such as simply being somewhere (var nokkur). If someone were moving into the hallway from outside, showing motion to a new location, it would take the accusative.
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