Breakdown of Tillitslaus samferðamaður gefur manni ekkert pláss.
gefa
to give
plássið
the space
ekkert
nothing / no (neut.)
maður
one (impersonal pronoun)
samferðamaðurinn
the fellow traveler
tillitslaus
inconsiderate
Questions & Answers about Tillitslaus samferðamaður gefur manni ekkert pláss.
Why is the impersonal pronoun manni used here instead of maður?
Is the impersonal pronoun maður declined exactly like the regular noun maður?
Yes! The impersonal pronoun (meaning 'one' or a generic 'you') shares the exact same declension as the noun for 'man' or 'person'. Its forms are maður (nominative), mann (accusative), manni (dative), and manns (genitive).
How is the adjective tillitslaus constructed?
It combines the noun tillit (consideration or regard) and the suffix -laus (meaning '-less'). It literally means 'consideration-less'. Notice that an 's' is added to form tillits- because the genitive case is often used to link a noun to a suffix in Icelandic.
What are the parts of the compound noun samferðamaður?
Why use ekkert instead of ekki before pláss?
Ekkert is the neuter accusative form of the word enginn (no / none). It acts as a determiner here agreeing with the neuter accusative noun pláss (space). While English might use an adverb like 'not' (gives one not any space), Icelandic prefers modifying the noun directly to say it gives one no space.
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