Breakdown of Strákurinn bliknaði af hræðslu þegar hundurinn gelti.
hundurinn
the dog
strákurinn
the boy
þegar
when
gelta
to bark
blikna
to turn pale
af
from (out of, cause)
hræðslan
the fear
Questions & Answers about Strákurinn bliknaði af hræðslu þegar hundurinn gelti.
Why do we use af for "from" fear instead of frá?
In Icelandic, af is the standard preposition used to express the underlying cause of a physical reaction, state, or emotion. While frá also translates to "from," it is mainly used for physical movement or distance away from a location or person. Because the fear caused the physical state of turning pale, we use af.
How does the noun hræðsla change to become hræðslu in this sentence?
The preposition af strictly governs the dative case. The base word for fear is the weak feminine noun hræðsla. Like most weak feminine nouns that end in -a in the nominative case, it changes its ending to -u in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases, resulting in hræðslu here.
Is gelti in the past or present tense here?
It is in the past tense, meaning "barked." The infinitive is gelta. As a weak verb, its third-person singular past tense takes an -i ending, resulting in gelti. While this happens to look identical to the present subjunctive form, the preceding past tense verb bliknaði (turned pale) makes it clear that this is a standard past indicative verb.
Why use þegar for "when" instead of hvenær?
We use þegar because it acts as a conjunction connecting two clauses, meaning "at the time that." The word hvenær also translates to "when," but it is strictly an interrogative word used only for asking questions, such as "Hvenær gelti hundurinn?" (When did the dog bark?).
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