Breakdown of Hann setti plássfreku töskuna frá sér í farangursrýmið.
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
frá
from
taskan
the bag
setja
to put
sig
himself/herself/themselves (acc)
plássfrekur
bulky / space-consuming
farangursrýmið
the luggage compartment
Questions & Answers about Hann setti plássfreku töskuna frá sér í farangursrýmið.
Why does the sentence use sér instead of honum?
In Icelandic, when a prepositional phrase describes an action relating back to the subject (here, hann), you must use the reflexive pronoun. Because the preposition frá always governs the dative case, we use sér, which is the dative form of sig. If you used honum, it would mean he put the bag away from a completely different male person.
Is setja frá sér a fixed phrase?
Yes. Að setja eitthvað frá sér literally means to put something from oneself, but it is the standard, idiomatic way to say to put down or to set aside an object you are holding.
Why does the adjective plássfreku end in -u?
The adjective plássfrekur (bulky or space-demanding) is in its weak form because the noun it describes, töskuna, has the definite article suffix attached. For a feminine accusative singular noun, the weak adjective ending is always -u.
Why is farangursrýmið in the accusative case after í instead of the dative?
The preposition í takes the accusative case when it indicates movement or direction towards a destination (into). If the bag were already resting inside the compartment, indicating a static location rather than motion, it would take the dative case and become í farangursrýminu.
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