Breakdown of Kennarinn sagði mér að sleppa þessum dagskrárlið.
kennarinn
the teacher
mér
me (dative)
að
to (infinitive marker)
þessi
this (m/f)
segja
to say
sleppa
to let go, to escape / to avoid / get out of
dagskrárliðurinn
the agenda item
Questions & Answers about Kennarinn sagði mér að sleppa þessum dagskrárlið.
Why are þessum and dagskrárlið in the dative case?
This is because of the verb sleppa. When sleppa means 'to let go of', 'to drop', or 'to skip' (as it does in this sentence), it requires its object to be in the dative case. Therefore, the masculine nominative þessi dagskrárliður becomes þessum dagskrárlið.
I've also seen sleppa used to mean 'to escape'. Does it still take a dative object in that context?
No. When sleppa means 'to escape' or 'to get away', it doesn't take a direct object at all (for example, ég slapp means 'I escaped'). It only governs the dative when you are actively doing something to another noun, like releasing a physical object or skipping a point on an agenda.
Why is mér in the dative case after sagði?
The verb segja (to say/tell) takes the dative case for the person being spoken to. When reporting a command like 'told me to', you use segja + dative person + að + infinitive verb. As a quick refresher, if you wanted to say 'asked me to', you would use biðja, which takes the accusative: Kennarinn bað mig að sleppa...
How is the compound word dagskrárlið formed?
It is made from dagskrá (agenda) and liður (item/point). The -r- in the middle shows that the first word is in the genitive case (dagskrár). The second part, liður, determines the word's gender (masculine) and is the part that declines into the dative case (lið) here.
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