Breakdown of Maðurinn iðrast en hann getur ekki fyrirgefið sjálfum sér yfirsjónina.
hann
he
en
but
maðurinn
the man
ekki
not
fyrirgefa
to forgive
sig
himself/herself/themselves (acc)
geta
to be able to
sjálfur
self, oneself
iðrast
to regret (repent, feel remorse)
yfirsjónin
the oversight
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn iðrast en hann getur ekki fyrirgefið sjálfum sér yfirsjónina.
Why do we use sjálfum sér instead of just sér?
How do we know to put sjálfur in the form sjálfum here?
The word sjálfur acts like an adjective describing the pronoun it emphasizes. Because the verb fyrirgefa requires the person being forgiven to be in the dative case, the reflexive pronoun is sér. Therefore, sjálfur must match sér in case (dative), gender (masculine, referring to maðurinn), and number (singular), which gives us the form sjálfum.
Why is yfirsjónina in the accusative case?
The verb fyrirgefa (to forgive) governs two objects at once. The person you forgive takes the dative case (here, sjálfum sér), while the thing or action you are forgiving takes the accusative case (here, yfirsjónina).
iðrast ends in -st. Does that mean it is in the passive voice here?
No, iðrast is a middle voice verb that only exists in this -st form but carries a purely active meaning ('to repent' or 'to regret'). If we wanted to add exactly what he repents in the first clause, that object would take the genitive case, but here the verb stands alone without an object.
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