Breakdown of Það er mikilvægt að sleppa þessari málstofu.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
þessi
this (m/f)
mikilvægur
important
sleppa
to let go, to escape / to avoid / get out of
málstofan
the seminar
Questions & Answers about Það er mikilvægt að sleppa þessari málstofu.
Why is þessari málstofu in the dative case?
Because the verb sleppa forces its object into the dative case when it means to skip or to let go of something. Since you are skipping the seminar, the seminar takes the dative form.
Does sleppa always force a following noun into the dative?
It does when it takes an object, such as when you skip or release something. However, when sleppa means to escape, it is an intransitive verb, meaning it does not take an object at all. For example, ég slapp simply means I escaped.
How do we know the gender of málstofa just by looking at this sentence?
The word þessari gives it away. It is the specific dative singular form of the word this for feminine nouns. If the noun were masculine, it would be þessum, and if it were neuter, it would be þessu.
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