Breakdown of Við sáum kafbátinn sökkva í undirdjúpið.
við
we
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
sjá
to see
sökkva
to sink
kafbáturinn
the submarine
undirdjúpið
the deep
Questions & Answers about Við sáum kafbátinn sökkva í undirdjúpið.
Does this sentence contain an accusative of extent, since kafbátinn and undirdjúpið are both in the accusative?
No, neither of those are accusatives of extent. Kafbátinn is in the accusative because it is the direct object of the verb sjá (to see). Meanwhile, undirdjúpið is in the accusative because the preposition í is describing motion into a destination. An accusative of extent would be a standalone phrase describing distance or time, such as allan daginn (all day).
I thought the verb sökkva governed the dative case. Why doesn't it force kafbátinn into the dative here?
Sökkva is a tricky verb because it can be transitive or intransitive. When it is transitive (meaning you actively sink an object), it takes a dative object. However, here it is intransitive (the submarine is sinking on its own). Because it is an intransitive infinitive here, it doesn't assign case to kafbátinn. Instead, kafbátinn gets its accusative case directly from the main verb, sjá (to see).
Why do we use the accusative undirdjúpið after í instead of the dative?
The preposition í takes the accusative case when it indicates active movement or direction from one place into another. Since the submarine is actively sinking down into the abyss, it triggers the accusative. If the submarine were already resting down there, you would use the dative form to show a fixed location: í undirdjúpinu.
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