Word
Hún þorir ekki að tala við þennan strák, af því að hún er skotin í honum.
Meaning
She does not dare to talk to this boy, because she is infatuated with him.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hún þorir ekki að tala við þennan strák, af því að hún er skotin í honum.
vera
to be
hún
she
hann
he
strákurinn
the boy
Questions & Answers about Hún þorir ekki að tala við þennan strák, af því að hún er skotin í honum.
Why does þorir require the word að before the next verb?
Þora (to dare) is a verb of mental disposition, not a true modal verb like vilja (to want) or geta (can/to be able to). Because it operates like a regular verb in this sense, the following verb must use the infinitive marker að (in this case, að tala).
Why do we use the accusative þennan strák after við?
When the preposition við means 'to' or 'with' in the context of communication, such as að tala við (to talk to), it governs the accusative case. Therefore, both the demonstrative pronoun (þennan) and the noun (strák) must take their accusative masculine forms.
What does skotin í literally mean?
The verb að skjóta means 'to shoot,' so the adjective skotin literally means 'shot' (here matching the feminine subject Hún). The phrase að vera skotinn í einhverjum translates literally as 'to be shot in someone' (likely an old reference to Cupid's arrow), and it is the standard, everyday Icelandic idiom for having a crush on someone.
Why is the pronoun honum in the dative case here?
The preposition í governs the dative case in the idiom að vera skotinn í. Because the phrase describes a state of mind rather than physical movement into something, it triggers the dative case for the person you have a crush on.