Breakdown of Vangetan til að hjálpa honum er sorgleg.
vera
to be
hann
he
að
to (infinitive marker)
hjálpa
to help
til
to
sorglegur
sad (of things)
vangetan
the inability
Questions & Answers about Vangetan til að hjálpa honum er sorgleg.
How does the prefix van- work in the word vangetan?
Why is til að used here instead of just að hjálpa?
When an infinitive phrase relates directly to a noun to explain its target or what it applies to, like describing what the vangetan is for, Icelandic typically uses til að rather than just að.
What determines the case of honum in this sentence?
The verb hjálpa always requires its object to be in the dative case. Because of this rule, the pronoun hann becomes its dative form honum.
Why does the adjective take the form sorgleg instead of sorglegt or sorglegur?
The adjective sorgleg must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject it describes, which is Vangetan. Because vangeta is a feminine noun in the singular nominative case, the adjective takes the feminine singular nominative form, which is the base word sorgleg.
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