Breakdown of Maðurinn skilur ekki syfjuna af því að hann sjálfur er ekki óléttur.
vera
to be
hann
he
maðurinn
the man
ekki
not
skilja
to understand
af því að
because
sjálfur
self, oneself
óléttur
pregnant
syfjan
the sleepiness
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn skilur ekki syfjuna af því að hann sjálfur er ekki óléttur.
Why is the word for sleepiness written as syfjuna here?
It is the feminine noun syfja (sleepiness). It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb skilja (to understand), which changes it to syfju. Adding the attached definite article makes it syfjuna (the sleepiness).
Could I just say því instead of af því að for 'because'?
Yes, you can. Both af því að and því (or því að) mean 'because' and are practically interchangeable in spoken Icelandic. Af því að can feel a bit more complete or emphatic in writing, but using just því here would be perfectly natural.
Why does sjálfur (himself) end in '-ur'?
The word sjálfur acts like an adjective in Icelandic and must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun or pronoun it modifies. Since it emphasizes the masculine, singular, nominative pronoun hann (he), it takes the masculine nominative singular form sjálfur.
The word for pregnant is óléttur. Since men can't usually get pregnant, why is it in a masculine form?
In Icelandic, grammatical agreement is an absolute rule that does not care about biological logic. Because the subject is the masculine pronoun hann, the adjective must match it and take the masculine nominative singular form óléttur, even though the situation described is meant to be humorous.
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