Breakdown of Við höldum áfram að safna heyinu í hlöðuna.
við
we
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
halda áfram
to continue, keep going (halda áfram)
safna
to collect
heyið
the hay
hlaðan
the barn
Questions & Answers about Við höldum áfram að safna heyinu í hlöðuna.
How does the phrase halda áfram að work in this sentence?
Halda áfram means to continue. It literally translates to hold onward or keep forward. To connect it to the next action, you use the infinitive marker að followed by the infinitive verb safna. Notice that only the first verb, halda, is conjugated as höldum to match við (we).
Why is heyinu (the hay) in the dative case here instead of the accusative?
The verb safna (to gather or collect) is a verb that specifically requires its object to be in the dative case. Whenever you gather something in Icelandic, that object must be dative. Hey is a neuter noun, and its dative definite form (the hay) is heyinu.
Why does the preposition í trigger the accusative case for hlöðuna (the barn)?
The preposition í takes the accusative case when it describes movement towards a destination, translating to into. Because the hay is being moved into the barn, it is accusative. If the hay were already resting inside the barn, í would take the dative case to show a stationary position.
What is the base dictionary form of hlöðuna, and where does the ö come from?
The base word is hlaða (barn), a weak feminine noun. When it changes to the accusative case, the root vowel a shifts to an ö because of the Icelandic U-shift rule, making the word hlöðu. Then, the feminine accusative definite article suffix -na is added to mean the barn, resulting in hlöðuna.
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