Breakdown of Andskotinn, ég gleymdi símanum heima!
ég
I
heima
at home
síminn
the telephone
gleyma
to forget
andskotinn
the devil (curse word)
Questions & Answers about Andskotinn, ég gleymdi símanum heima!
Why is Andskotinn translated as damn it here, and what does it literally mean?
Andskotinn literally means the adversary or the devil, and it is one of the most common swear words in Icelandic. Even though it is a noun with the definite article attached (the -nn at the end), it functions here as an exclamation just like damn it in English.
Why is the word for phone in the dative case (símanum)?
The verb gleyma (to forget) requires the object you are forgetting to be in the dative case. Since sími is a masculine noun, its dative form is síma, and adding the definite dative suffix gives us símanum.
Do you always use the dative case after the verb gleyma?
You use the dative when you forget a noun, like a physical object or a fact. However, if you forget to do an action, you simply use að plus the infinitive verb, such as ég gleymdi að hringja (I forgot to call).
Why use heima instead of heim here?
Icelandic strictly distinguishes between motion and location. You use heima when something is in a static location, like a phone left at home. You only use heim when there is motion toward a place, like walking home.
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