Breakdown of Það er verið að laga götuljósið á götunni okkar.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
laga
to fix
gatan
the street
okkar
our
götuljósið
the street light
Questions & Answers about Það er verið að laga götuljósið á götunni okkar.
How is the continuous passive 'is being fixed' formed in this sentence?
It uses the impersonal structure Það er verið að followed by the infinitive of the main verb, laga. Literally translating to 'It is been to fix', this pattern is the standard way to express that an ongoing action is currently being done to something.
In the English translation, 'the street light' is the subject. Why isn't götuljósið in the nominative case?
Because of the impersonal structure. The dummy pronoun Það acts as the grammatical subject. The actual thing being fixed (götuljósið) remains the direct object of the active verb laga (to fix). Since laga governs the accusative case, götuljósið must stay in the accusative.
Why does the preposition á take the dative case for götunni here?
The preposition á governs the dative case when it describes a static location, such as where the street light is standing. It would only take the accusative if it described active movement towards a destination. Götunni is the dative definite form of the feminine noun gata.
Why doesn't the possessive word okkar change to match the dative, feminine noun götunni?
Because okkar is the genitive form of the personal pronoun við (we), literally meaning 'of us'. Unlike singular possessive words such as minn (my) or þinn (your), the plural possessives okkar (our) and ykkar (your, plural) never decline or change form to match the noun they modify.
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