Breakdown of Hönnuðurinn teiknaði innréttinguna og við létum smíða hana.
og
and
hún
she
við
we
teikna
to draw
láta
to let
smíða
to build (craft, forge)
hönnuðurinn
the designer
innréttingin
the cabinetry
Questions & Answers about Hönnuðurinn teiknaði innréttinguna og við létum smíða hana.
How does the causative construction work in við létum smíða hana?
To express that you had something done by someone else, Icelandic uses the verb láta followed by an infinitive. Even though the English translation feels passive (we had it built), Icelandic uses the active infinitive form smíða (to build) followed by its accusative object hana (it). The literal structure is closer to 'we let build it.'
Why do we use hana at the end instead of the neuter það for 'it'?
Icelandic pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Hana (her) refers back to innréttinguna (the cabinetry), which comes from the feminine noun innrétting. It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb smíða.
Does teikna just mean 'to draw' like a sketch or picture?
While its basic meaning is to draw, teikna is the standard verb used in Icelandic for drafting or designing buildings, rooms, and furniture. Interestingly, even though the word for designer here is hönnuður (derived from the verb hanna, to design), the physical act of designing the cabinetry is expressed with teikna.
What type of noun is hönnuðurinn?
The base word is hönnuður (designer), which is a strong masculine noun. To make it definite (the designer), it takes the standard masculine nominative suffix -inn, becoming hönnuðurinn. It is in the nominative case here because it is the subject performing the action in the first half of the sentence.
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