Breakdown of Sjónarvotturinn sér hvar upplýsingagjafinn bíður í fylgsninu.
hvar
where
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
sjá
to see
bíða
to wait
sjónarvotturinn
the eyewitness
upplýsingagjafinn
the informant
fylgsnið
the hiding place
Questions & Answers about Sjónarvotturinn sér hvar upplýsingagjafinn bíður í fylgsninu.
Why is hvar used here instead of a direct translation for the -ing verb waiting?
This sentence uses a pseudo-relative clause of perception, which is the focus of this lesson. After a verb of perception like sjá (to see), Icelandic often uses hvar (literally 'where') to describe an ongoing action being witnessed. It functions similarly to the English '-ing' participle, showing that the eyewitness sees the action of waiting as it happens.
Why is upplýsingagjafinn in the nominative case? Shouldn't the person being seen be the direct object of sér?
Because hvar starts a new subordinate clause, upplýsingagjafinn acts as the subject of that new clause (the one doing the waiting), so it must be nominative. If you used an Accusative + Infinitive construction instead, like sér upplýsingagjafann bíða, it would take the accusative case as the direct object of the main verb.
How are the long compound nouns sjónarvotturinn and upplýsingagjafinn put together?
As a quick refresher, why does í fylgsninu take the dative case?
The preposition í takes the dative case when it describes a static location, meaning no movement towards a new destination is happening. Since the informant is stationary inside the hiding place, the neuter noun fylgsni takes the dative definite ending -nu.
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