Breakdown of Læknirinn skoðar lungað í honum niðri.
læknirinn
the doctor
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
skoða
to look at
niðri
downstairs / down (location)
lungað
the lung
Questions & Answers about Læknirinn skoðar lungað í honum niðri.
Why does the sentence use í honum instead of just hans for "his"?
In Icelandic, internal body parts (like lungs, stomach, heart) usually show possession using the preposition í followed by a dative pronoun, rather than a standard possessive pronoun. So, "his lung" translates literally as "the lung in him" (lungað í honum).
Why is it lungað (the lung) and not just lunga (a lung) before í honum?
When using this specific "internal body part" possession structure, the body part must be in the definite form. You are talking about the specific lung inside him, so it becomes lungað í honum, never lunga í honum.
What case and gender is the word lungað here?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb skoða (to examine). The word lunga is a neuter noun, and its definite accusative form is lungað.
Why use niðri for "downstairs" instead of niður?
Niðri is used when there is no movement involved, meaning being stationary "downstairs" or "below". Niður is used for motion, like going "down" the stairs. Since the doctor is already downstairs examining the patient, we use the stationary form niðri.
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