Questions & Answers about Okkur grunar óvininn.
Why do we start with Okkur instead of Við?
This is the "quirky subject" in action! The verb gruna (to suspect) requires the person doing the suspecting to be in the accusative case. So instead of using the normal nominative við (we), we have to use the accusative okkur.
Since okkur means "we", why is the verb grunar in the singular?
Whenever an Icelandic verb takes a quirky subject (like an accusative or dative subject), it loses its ability to agree with that subject. Instead, the verb is frozen in the default 3rd-person singular form. That's why we use grunar rather than a plural verb.
Are both okkur and óvininn in the accusative case here?
Yes! The verb gruna is a bit unusual because it takes a double accusative. Both the quirky subject experiencing the feeling (okkur) and the object being suspected (óvininn) must be in the accusative case.
How exactly is the word óvininn formed?
It comes from the masculine noun óvinur (enemy), which literally translates to "un-friend" (ó- + vinur). Because it is the object here, it drops the -ur to become the accusative óvin. Finally, we attach the masculine accusative definite article (-inn) to make it óvininn (the enemy).
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