Breakdown of Ljósmóðirin sýnir okkur ómskoðunina og við heyrum hjartsláttinn.
og
and
við
we
heyra
to hear
sýna
to show
ljósmóðirin
the midwife
ómskoðunin
the ultrasound
hjartslátturinn
the heartbeat
Questions & Answers about Ljósmóðirin sýnir okkur ómskoðunina og við heyrum hjartsláttinn.
Why does sýna use two different cases for its objects in this sentence?
The verb sýna (to show) assigns the dative case to the person receiving the action (okkur) and the accusative case to the thing being shown (ómskoðunina). Even though the dative and accusative forms of "we" are both okkur, it is acting as a dative indirect object here.
How do you break down the word ljósmóðirin?
It is a compound of ljós (light) and móðir (mother), literally meaning "mother of light." The -in at the end is the feminine definite article, making it "the midwife."
Why is the ending of hjartsláttinn spelled that way?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb heyra (to hear). The base word is the masculine noun hjartsláttur (heartbeat). In the accusative case, it drops the -ur to become hjartslátt. Then, the masculine accusative definite article -inn is attached to the end.
How would this sentence look if we applied the continuous "vera að" structure from this lesson?
If you want to strongly emphasize that she is doing it right at this exact moment ("is showing"), you could say Ljósmóðirin er að sýna okkur ómskoðunina. However, Icelandic frequently just uses the simple present tense (sýnir) for actions happening right now, as seen in this sentence.
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