Breakdown of Hún fleygir stórum og gagnslausum kassa.
og
and
hún
she
stór
big
kassinn
the box
fleygja
to throw away
gagnslaus
useless
Questions & Answers about Hún fleygir stórum og gagnslausum kassa.
Why is the box in the dative case (kassa instead of kassi)?
The verb fleygja (to throw away) belongs to a group of verbs describing moving, throwing, or turning an object. In Icelandic, these "verbs of manipulation" almost always force the object you are acting upon into the dative case.
Do the adjectives stórum and gagnslausum also have to be in the dative case?
Yes. Adjectives must always match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Because kassi is masculine, singular, and forced into the dative case by the verb, both adjectives take the strong masculine singular dative ending -um.
Wait, isn't kassa also the accusative and genitive form of kassi?
Exactly! Kassi is a weak masculine noun (it ends in a vowel in the nominative). Weak masculine nouns end in -a in the accusative, dative, and genitive singular, so the noun itself looks identical in all three cases. The adjectives are your biggest clue here: the -um endings on stórum and gagnslausum clearly prove the phrase is dative.
What is the difference between fleygja and henda, since both mean "to throw"?
Both verbs require the dative case. However, henda is the general word for throwing (like throwing a ball to a friend, though it is also used for throwing in the trash). Fleygja, on the other hand, almost exclusively implies discarding something or throwing it away permanently.
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