Breakdown of Hann tekur mynd af rispunni að aftan.
myndin
the picture
hann
he
taka
to take
af
off
rispan
the scratch
að aftan
from the back / at the back
Questions & Answers about Hann tekur mynd af rispunni að aftan.
Why do we use að aftan here instead of fyrir aftan?
In Icelandic, spatial adverbs with the að prefix describe a location or perspective viewed from a certain direction. While English says 'at the back,' að aftan conveys that the scratch is located on the rear surface of the object itself. If you used fyrir aftan, it would mean the scratch is physically floating in the empty space behind the object!
Why is the word for 'the scratch' spelled rispunni?
The preposition af forces the following noun into the dative case. The basic word is the feminine noun rispa (scratch), which becomes rispu in the dative. To say 'the scratch,' we add the feminine dative definite article -nni, resulting in rispunni.
Do you always use af when taking a picture 'of' something?
Yes, the phrase is always að taka mynd af followed by the dative case. While the English word 'of' can translate to many different prepositions in Icelandic depending on the verb, af is the standard choice for describing the subject of a photograph, drawing, or painting.
Could að aftan refer to where he is standing rather than where the scratch is?
Grammatically it could, but usually it attaches to the noun right before it, meaning 'the scratch that is located at the back.' Placing að aftan immediately after rispunni is the most natural way to describe the physical location of the scratch on the object.
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