Breakdown of Hvaða snákur var í þessari martröð?
vera
to be
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
þessi
this (m/f)
hvaða
which, what
martröðin
the nightmare
snákurinn
the snake
Questions & Answers about Hvaða snákur var í þessari martröð?
Why is "this" translated as þessari rather than þessum or þetta?
Þessari is the feminine dative singular form of the demonstrative pronoun þessi (this). It has to agree with martröð (nightmare), which is a feminine noun. We use the dative case here because the preposition í takes the dative when describing a static location (being inside the nightmare).
Wait, martröð doesn't look like a typical feminine word. How does it change in different cases?
It is a bit unusual! Nouns ending in -öð are usually feminine. Martröð stays exactly the same in the nominative, accusative, and dative cases. It only changes in the genitive case, where it becomes martraðar.
Does the question word hvaða (which/what) change depending on the gender or case of the noun?
No, hvaða is completely invariable. It never changes its form, regardless of whether the noun following it is masculine, feminine, neuter, singular, plural, or in any of the four cases.
Since this lesson is about dreyma (to dream), how would I answer this question by saying "I dreamt about this snake"?
You would use a quirky accusative subject and say Mig dreymdi þennan snák. Both the word for "I" (mig) and "this snake" (þennan snák) are in the accusative case because the verb dreyma requires both the dreamer and the thing dreamt about to take the accusative case.
Learn Hvaða snákur var í þessari martröð and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free