Learn Icelandic: Ábyrgðarlausi strákurinn gætir sín ekki og sýnir enga tillitssemi. - The irresponsible boy is not careful and shows no consideration.

Ábyrgðarlausi strákurinn gætir sín ekki og sýnir enga tillitssemi.

The irresponsible boy is not careful and shows no consideration.

Breakdown of Ábyrgðarlausi strákurinn gætir sín ekki og sýnir enga tillitssemi.

Questions & Answers about Ábyrgðarlausi strákurinn gætir sín ekki og sýnir enga tillitssemi.

Why does the verb gæta use the genitive pronoun sín here?

The verb gæta means 'to watch' or 'to take care of' and governs the genitive case. When used reflexively to mean 'to be careful' or 'to watch out', the reflexive pronoun must also be in the genitive case. For the third person, this genitive reflexive pronoun is always sín, regardless of whether the subject is masculine, feminine, plural, or singular.

What is the word order rule for ekki when using a reflexive verb like gæta sín?

Object pronouns, including the reflexive sín, generally come before the negative adverb ekki in a main clause. This is why the sentence says gætir sín ekki rather than gætir ekki sín.

Why is the adjective ábyrgðarlausi used instead of the dictionary form ábyrgðarlaus?

The adjective is modifying a definite noun, strákurinn (the boy). When an adjective modifies a noun with the definite article attached, it must use the weak declension. For a masculine singular nominative noun, the weak ending is -i, making it ábyrgðarlausi.

Why does the word for 'no' take the form enga in this sentence?