Learn Icelandic: Í þriðja skrefi setur þú tappana í götin. - In the third step, you put the pegs into the holes.

Í þriðja skrefi setur þú tappana í götin.

In the third step, you put the pegs into the holes.

Breakdown of Í þriðja skrefi setur þú tappana í götin.

þú

you

in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)

Questions & Answers about Í þriðja skrefi setur þú tappana í götin.

The current lesson is about phrases like í þriðja lagi (thirdly). Why does this sentence say í þriðja skrefi?

While í þriðja lagi is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning "thirdly" used to structure arguments or lists, this sentence describes a literal set of physical instructions. It replaces the abstract noun lag with the neuter noun skref (step) to literally mean "in the third step." Notice that both phrases follow the exact same grammatical pattern: the preposition í + a dative weak ordinal number + a dative neuter noun.

Why do the two instances of the preposition í trigger different cases here?

The preposition í controls the dative case for static positions in time, space, or a process, which is why we see the dative in í þriðja skrefi (in the third step). However, when í indicates movement or direction into something, it takes the accusative case. Since you are actively putting the pegs into the holes, götin is in the accusative.

Why is the verb setur placed before the subject þú?

Icelandic strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the sentence begins with the prepositional phrase Í þriðja skrefi, that entire phrase counts as the first syntactic element. The verb setur must come next to maintain the second position, which pushes the subject þú right after it.

What determines the ending of the ordinal number þriðja in this sentence?