Breakdown of Við þurfum að skila hjólbörunum hans Páls strax.
við
we
að
to (infinitive marker)
strax
right away
þurfa
to need
hans
his
skila
to hand in
Páll
Páll
hjólbörurnar
the wheelbarrow
Questions & Answers about Við þurfum að skila hjólbörunum hans Páls strax.
Why do we use hans Páls instead of just Páls?
In colloquial Icelandic, expressing possession with a person's name usually uses this structure: the definite noun + the pronoun (hans for a man, hennar for a woman) + the name in the genitive case. So, rather than the formal hjólbörur Páls, it is much more natural to say hjólbörunum hans Páls.
Why is the wheelbarrow (hjólbörunum) in the dative case?
The verb skila (to return something) always requires the object you are giving back to take the dative case.
The English translation says wheelbarrow in the singular, but hjólbörunum has a plural ending. Why?
Why does the name Páll change to Páls at the end?
Even though we added the pronoun hans before it, the name itself still needs to be in the genitive (possessive) case to show ownership. For the name Páll, the genitive form adds an -s, making it Páls.
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