Breakdown of Kjóllinn er tollskyldur. Við felum hann ekki.
vera
to be
hann
he
ekki
not
við
we
kjóllinn
the dress
fela
to hide
tollskyldur
subject to customs duty
Questions & Answers about Kjóllinn er tollskyldur. Við felum hann ekki.
Why is hann placed before ekki in the second sentence?
This is an example of object shift (fornafnaskotsfærsla). In main clauses, when the direct object is an unstressed pronoun like hann, it moves to appear before the negation ekki or other sentence adverbs. If the object were a regular noun, it would stay after the negation, as in Við felum ekki kjólinn.
Why do we use hann for "it" here instead of það?
Pronouns in Icelandic must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since kjóll (dress) is a masculine noun, you must use the masculine pronoun hann rather than the neuter það to say "it".
How is the adjective tollskyldur formed?
It is a compound of the noun tollur (customs, duty, toll) and the adjective skyldur (obliged, bound). Together they form a word literally meaning "duty-bound" or subject to customs.
What case does the verb fela take, and why does hann look like a subject pronoun here?
The verb fela (to hide) governs the accusative case. The accusative form of the masculine pronoun hann is also hann. So even though it looks exactly like the nominative subject form, it is actually functioning as the accusative object in this sentence.
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