Word
Krossfiskurinn er örugglega einhvers staðar í þaranum.
Meaning
The starfish is definitely somewhere in the seaweed.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Krossfiskurinn er örugglega einhvers staðar í þaranum.
vera
to be
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
örugglega
definitely
einhvers staðar
somewhere
Questions & Answers about Krossfiskurinn er örugglega einhvers staðar í þaranum.
Why is einhvers staðar two words, and how does it fit the static location theme?
Einhvers staðar means "somewhere" and is used exclusively for static location, matching the state of being in this sentence. It literally translates to "of some place", combining the genitive forms of einhver (some) and staður (place).
Would we still use einhvers staðar if the starfish were moving into the seaweed?
No. Because einhvers staðar is strictly for static location, it only works when something is resting in a place. If the starfish were moving "somewhere", you would use a directional adverb like eitthvert instead.
The root of örugglega is öruggur, which means "safe". Why does it mean "definitely" here?
While the adjective öruggur means "safe" or "secure", its adverb form örugglega is the standard Icelandic way to say "definitely", "surely", or "certainly". You are essentially saying you feel "secure" in your assumption.
Why does the preposition í trigger the dative case for þaranum here?
The preposition í governs the dative case when indicating a static location (being in or inside something). Since the starfish is already located in the seaweed, rather than moving into it, we use the dative form of þarinn (the seaweed).