Breakdown of Kaldur líkami stífnar mikið í snjónum.
mikið
a lot
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
kaldur
cold
snjórinn
the snow (m)
líkaminn
the body
stífna
to stiffen
Questions & Answers about Kaldur líkami stífnar mikið í snjónum.
How is the verb stífnar formed from an adjective?
Are there any stem vowel changes when conjugating -na verbs like stífna?
No, verbs derived with the -na suffix are highly regular weak verbs. In the present tense singular, they take -a, -ar, -ar endings without triggering any vowel shifts (like U-mutations or I-shifts) in the root. That is why it simply stays as stífnar for "stiffens".
Líkami is a masculine noun. Why doesn't it end in -ur?
Líkami (body) belongs to the category of "weak" masculine nouns. Instead of the typical strong ending -ur, weak masculine nouns end in -i in the nominative singular. As a quick refresher: these nouns change to end in -a in the accusative, dative, and genitive singular. Since it is the subject of this sentence, it stays in the nominative.
Why does the preposition í trigger the dative case for snjónum here instead of the accusative?
The preposition í governs the dative case when it describes a stationary location (being "in" a place) and the accusative case when describing motion towards a destination (going "into" a place). Because the body is already located in the snow rather than moving into it, snjónum must be in the dative case.
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