Breakdown of Tónverkið var líka samið af tónskáldinu.
vera
to be
líka
also
tónverkið
the musical piece
tónskáldið
the composer
af
by (agent of a passive)
semja
to compose
Questions & Answers about Tónverkið var líka samið af tónskáldinu.
Why is the word tónskáldinu in the dative case here?
In Icelandic passive sentences, the person or thing performing the action (the agent) is introduced by the preposition af. This preposition always dictates that its object takes the dative case. Therefore, the neuter noun tónskáld takes the dative definite ending, becoming tónskáldinu.
Why does the past participle take the form samið rather than the masculine dictionary form samiður?
In a passive construction, the past participle acts like an adjective and must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject. Since the subject tónverkið is a neuter, singular noun in the nominative case, the past participle of the verb semja (to compose) must take the corresponding neuter singular nominative form, which is samið.
The words for 'piece of music' and 'composer' look very similar. How are they formed?
They both start with the root tón- (from tónn, meaning tone or sound). Tónverk literally means tone-work. Tónskáld combines tón- with skáld (poet), beautifully making a composer a music-poet in Icelandic.
Could we place the adverb líka at the very end of the sentence, like we often do in English?
It is much more natural to put it exactly where it is here. In Icelandic main clauses, short sentence adverbs like líka typically go in the middle of the sentence, directly following the finite (conjugated) auxiliary verb var.
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