Breakdown of Við byrjum á boruninni áður en við notum dæluna.
við
we
nota
to use
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
byrja
to start
Questions & Answers about Við byrjum á boruninni áður en við notum dæluna.
Why does the dative definite form boruninni not have an extra -u- before the article?
The noun here is borun (drilling). Even though feminine nouns ending in -ing (like mæling) add a -u in the accusative and dative cases (becoming mælingunni when definite), feminine nouns ending in -un usually do not change. Therefore, borun stays borun in the dative, and adding the dative definite article -inni makes it boruninni.
Why is boruninni in the dative case here?
The dative case is triggered by the preposition á. The phrasal verb byrja á (to start on) always requires the noun that follows it to be in the dative case.
Why is it áður en instead of just áður?
By itself, áður is an adverb meaning previously or beforehand. When you want to use it to connect two clauses (meaning before something else happens), you must add en to form the conjunction áður en.
Why is dæluna in the accusative case?
The verb nota (to use) requires its direct object to be in the accusative case. The base noun is dæla (pump), which becomes dælu in the accusative singular. Adding the accusative definite article gives you dæluna.