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Það er læknirinn sem synjar sjúklingnum vottorðsins.

Það er læknirinn sem synjar sjúklingnum vottorðsins.
It is the doctor who denies the patient the certificate.
From Lesson 386:Dative and genitive valency·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Það er læknirinn sem synjar sjúklingnum vottorðsins.

Why does the verb synjar take both a dative and a genitive object here?
The verb synja (to deny or refuse) requires a specific ditransitive case pattern. The person being denied takes the dative case (sjúklingnum), while the thing being denied takes the genitive case (vottorðsins).
Let's break down vottorðsins. How is the definite article attached in the genitive case?
The base noun is the neuter word vottorð (certificate). Its genitive singular form is vottorðs. To make it definite ('the certificate'), we add the neuter genitive singular article -ins, giving us vottorðsins.
Could I just say Læknirinn synjar... instead of Það er læknirinn sem...?
Yes, but it changes the emphasis. Using Það er... sem... (It is... who...) creates a cleft sentence. Just like in English, this structure emphasizes that it is specifically the doctor, and not someone else, who is doing the denying.
Both synja and neita translate to 'deny'. Why use synja here?
Synja is commonly used in formal, medical, or administrative contexts for rejecting a request, application, or document. It also dictates this specific dative-genitive object pattern, whereas neita typically governs just the dative case for the thing being denied.

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