Breakdown of Til að minnka vesenið þurfa þau að taka lágmarkið með sér.
þau
they (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
þurfa
to need
taka
to take
með
with
sig
himself/herself/themselves (acc)
til
to
minnka
to reduce / to decrease (intransitive) / to reduce (something)
vesenið
the hassle / the fuss
lágmarkið
the minimum
Questions & Answers about Til að minnka vesenið þurfa þau að taka lágmarkið með sér.
Why do we use the reflexive sér instead of the regular pronoun þeim?
In English, we say 'they take it with them', but in Icelandic, when a prepositional phrase describes something physically accompanying the subject (þau), you must use a reflexive pronoun. Because they are taking the minimum with themselves, Icelandic uses the reflexive sig/sér/sín paradigm instead of the third-person pronoun þeim.
Why is the reflexive pronoun in the dative case (sér) rather than the accusative (sig)?
The case is governed by the preposition með. When með indicates accompaniment (being 'along with' someone, even oneself), it takes the dative case. Therefore, in the fixed phrase að taka eitthvað með sér (to take something with oneself), the reflexive pronoun must be in the dative form sér.
Why is the word order þurfa þau instead of þau þurfa?
This is a textbook example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The sentence starts with the phrase Til að minnka vesenið (In order to reduce the hassle). Since this entire phrase occupies the first position, the main verb þurfa must take the second position, pushing the subject þau right after it.
Does the verb minnka always take the accusative case, as it does here with vesenið?
Yes, when minnka is used transitively—meaning somebody is actively reducing a direct object—that object takes the accusative case. The word vesen (hassle) is a neuter noun, so its definite accusative form is vesenið. If minnka were used intransitively (e.g., the hassle decreases on its own), the noun would be the subject and take the nominative case.
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