Breakdown of Enginn slasaðist í árekstrinum.
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
slasast
to get injured
áreksturinn
the collision, the car crash
Questions & Answers about Enginn slasaðist í árekstrinum.
What does the -st ending on slasaðist do in this sentence?
It makes the verb slasa (to injure) passive or reflexive. With the -st ending, it changes the meaning from injuring someone else to getting injured. This is known as the middle voice in Icelandic.
Why is árekstrinum in the dative case after í?
The preposition í takes the dative case when indicating a static location or being inside an event, like a collision. It would only take the accusative if there was active movement into the collision.
What is the dictionary form of árekstrinum, and why does its spelling change so much?
The base word is árekstur (collision). When it changes to the dative case, the second u drops out before adding the dative ending i, making it árekstri. Then, the dative masculine definite article -num is attached to the end, resulting in árekstrinum (the collision).
Why is Enginn in the masculine form?
When referring to people in general without a specific gender in mind, Icelandic uses the masculine form as the default. If you were specifically talking about an all-female group, you would use the feminine form engin.
Learn Enginn slasaðist í árekstrinum 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