Breakdown of Mér sýnist að hann sé hvorki með hatt né grímu.
vera
to be
hann
he
mér
me (dative)
með
with
að
that (conjunction)
hatturinn
the hat
hvorki
neither
né
nor
sýnast
to seem
gríman
the mask
Questions & Answers about Mér sýnist að hann sé hvorki með hatt né grímu.
Why do we use mér instead of ég with sýnist?
Sýnast is an impersonal middle-voice verb meaning "to appear" or "to seem". In Icelandic, the person experiencing the perception doesn't take the active subject role. Instead, you use the dative pronoun mér. The phrase essentially translates to "it appears to me."
Why is the verb sé used here instead of er?
Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be). Because the verb sýnast expresses a subjective impression or something that isn't a verified fact, it triggers the subjunctive mood in the að clause that follows it.
I thought með meant "with". Why does the translation say he is "wearing" a hat and mask?
The phrase vera með (to be with) is the standard Icelandic way to describe wearing accessories, such as a hat (hatt), a mask (grímu), or glasses. If you were talking about wearing regular clothing items like a shirt or pants, you would use the phrase vera í (to be in).
What causes hatt and grímu to be in the accusative case here?
The preposition með governs the accusative case here. The paired conjunction hvorki... né (neither... nor) simply links the two nouns together. Because they are linked, the preposition með applies to both of them, forcing both into the accusative.
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