Breakdown of Bíllinn er fastur úti í mýrinni út af drullunni.
vera
to be
bíllinn
the car
úti
outside
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
út af
because of (+ dative)
fastur
stuck / fixed
mýrin
the bog
drullan
the mud (muck, dirt)
Questions & Answers about Bíllinn er fastur úti í mýrinni út af drullunni.
Why do we use úti í mýrinni here instead of út í mýrina?
This sentence describes a stationary location, not movement. Because the car is stuck (er fastur), it is already out there and not moving. Therefore, we use the stationary place adverb úti (out) and the preposition í followed by the dative case (mýrinni). If the car were driving out into the bog, we would use the directional adverb út and the accusative case (út í mýrina).
The sentence starts with the stationary adverb úti, but later uses the directional út in út af. Why?
The phrase út af is a fixed compound preposition meaning 'because of' or 'due to.' In this specific phrase, út does not function as a directional adverb of place like it does in a phrase like út í (out into). It is just a set idiom that always takes the dative case, which is why we see the dative form drullunni (the mud) following it.
What is the base form of the word mýrinni and how is it declined here?
The root word is mýri (bog or swamp), which is a feminine noun. The stationary prepositional phrase úti í requires the dative case. The dative form of mýri is just mýri, and when you add the feminine dative definite article -nni, it becomes mýrinni (in the bog).
Why does the adjective fastur end in -ur?
Fastur (stuck or attached) is an adjective describing Bíllinn (the car). Because bíll is a masculine noun in the nominative case acting as the subject of the sentence, the adjective must agree with it by taking the masculine nominative singular ending -ur.
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