Breakdown of Ég ætla að nota hrífuna hennar Maríu á meðan hún er í vinnunni.
vera
to be
ég
I
hún
she
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
nota
to use
ætla
to intend
vinnan
the work
hennar
her / hers (genitive)
María
Maria
á meðan
while
hrífan
the rake
Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að nota hrífuna hennar Maríu á meðan hún er í vinnunni.
How does the possession work in hrífuna hennar Maríu?
This is the colloquial, everyday way to show possession with names in Icelandic. You take the item being owned, add the definite article to it (hrífuna - "the rake"), then add the pronoun hennar (her), and finally the owner's name in the genitive case (Maríu). It literally translates to "the rake her María's."
Why is the name spelled Maríu instead of María?
Because María is the owner in this structure, her name must be in the genitive (possessive) case. For the feminine name María, the genitive form is Maríu. Even though the rake is in the accusative case, the owner's case doesn't change to match it.
Why is the rake in the accusative case (hrífuna)?
It is the direct object of the verb nota (to use), which requires its objects to be in the accusative case. Since hrífa (rake) is a feminine noun, its accusative definite form is hrífuna.
Why does the sentence use the definite article for "at work" (í vinnunni)?
In Icelandic, you usually use the definite form of the word for work (vinnan) when talking about being physically at your workplace. If you drop the article and say í vinnu, it usually means "employed" in a general sense, rather than being at work right now.
Is there a difference between meðan and á meðan?
Both mean "while" and are used interchangeably in modern Icelandic. Á meðan is an extremely common set phrase for "during the time that," but simply saying meðan hún er í vinnunni would also be perfectly correct.
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