Breakdown of Ábyrgðarlausi strákurinn gætir sín ekki og sýnir enga tillitssemi.
og
and
strákurinn
the boy
ekki
not
sýna
to show
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
gæta
to take care of
sín
of oneself
ábyrgðarlaus
irresponsible
tillitssemin
the consideration
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?
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?
It is modifying the feminine noun tillitssemi (consideration). Because the phrase is the direct object of the verb sýnir (shows), it must be in the accusative case. The feminine accusative singular form of enginn (no/none) is enga.
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