Breakdown of Sex árum síðar kenndi hún mér að umplanta litla dvergtrénu.
ég
I
hún
she
lítill
small / a little (small amount)
að
to (infinitive marker)
sex
six
kenna
to teach
árið
the year
dvergtréð
the dwarf tree
síðar
later
umplanta
to repot
Questions & Answers about Sex árum síðar kenndi hún mér að umplanta litla dvergtrénu.
Why is Sex árum in the dative case here?
This is the dative of temporal difference, which is the focus of your current lesson. The phrase Sex árum (six years) acts as a measurement that modifies the comparative adverb síðar (later), essentially meaning 'later by six years'.
Why does the verb kenndi come before the subject hún?
Icelandic strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the sentence starts with the time phrase Sex árum síðar, the finite verb kenndi must take the second position in the clause, pushing the subject hún right behind it.
Why is the repotted object, litla dvergtrénu, in the dative case instead of the accusative?
The verb umplanta (to repot) governs the dative case. It is very common in Icelandic for verbs that describe moving, relocating, or redirecting an object to take a dative object rather than an accusative one.
Why do we use the weak adjective form litla here instead of the strong form lítið?
Because the noun it modifies, dvergtrénu, is definite (indicated by the -nu suffix). In Icelandic, adjectives modifying definite nouns must take the weak declension. For a neuter dative noun, that form is litla.
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