Breakdown of Fyrst er hljóðfærið keypt af hljóðverinu.
vera
to be
kaupa
to buy
fyrst
first (adverb)
af
by (agent of a passive)
hljóðfærið
the instrument
hljóðverið
the studio
Questions & Answers about Fyrst er hljóðfærið keypt af hljóðverinu.
Why do we use the preposition af here, and what case does it trigger for hljóðverinu?
In passive sentences, the agent (the entity actually performing the action) is introduced by the preposition af, translating to "by". The preposition af always governs the dative case. Here, the neuter noun hljóðver takes the definite dative ending -inu, giving us hljóðverinu.
Why does the past participle take the form keypt instead of the dictionary form?
In Icelandic passive constructions, the past participle must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject. The subject hljóðfærið is a neuter, singular noun in the nominative case. Therefore, the past participle of kaupa takes the corresponding neuter singular nominative form, keypt.
Why is the verb er placed before the subject hljóðfærið?
This sentence follows the strict verb-second rule. Because the sentence begins with the adverb fyrst, the conjugated verb er must come immediately after it in the second position. This inverts the typical subject-verb order and pushes hljóðfærið to the third position.
The word for studio is hljóðver. What are the components of this compound word?
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