Breakdown of Veðurblaðran flýgur hátt upp í lofthjúpinn.
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
fljúga
to fly
upp
up
hár
high / loudly
veðurblaðran
the weather balloon
lofthjúpurinn
the atmosphere (of a planet)
Questions & Answers about Veðurblaðran flýgur hátt upp í lofthjúpinn.
Why is it upp and not uppi here?
Upp indicates motion upwards towards a destination, which matches the balloon flying into the atmosphere. If the balloon were just floating stationary high in the sky, you would use the static form uppi.
Why is lofthjúpinn in the accusative case?
The preposition í takes the accusative case when it describes motion towards or into a destination. If the sentence described an action happening entirely within the boundaries of the atmosphere, í would take the dative case (í lofthjúpnum).
Why do we use hátt instead of hár?
Hátt is the adverbial form of the adjective hár (high). In this sentence, it acts as an adverb modifying the directional word upp to describe how far up the balloon is going.
How does the compound word lofthjúpur break down?
It combines loft (air or sky) and hjúpur (cover, envelope, or cloak). So the atmosphere is literally described as an "air-cloak" surrounding the planet.
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