Breakdown of Maður notar eldstæðið til að mýkja málminn og dýfa honum í vatnið.
og
and
hann
he
að
to (infinitive marker)
vatnið
the water
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
nota
to use
til
to
málmurinn
the metal
maður
one (impersonal pronoun)
dýfa
to dip
eldstæðið
the hearth (n)
mýkja
to soften
Questions & Answers about Maður notar eldstæðið til að mýkja málminn og dýfa honum í vatnið.
Why do we use the dative honum when referring back to the accusative málminn?
The verbs in this sentence are joined by og (and), but they require their objects to be in different cases. The verb mýkja (to soften) takes the accusative, which is why we see málminn. However, dýfa (to dip) takes the dative. Because the case changes, we must resolve the conflict by inserting the dative pronoun honum for the second verb.
Could we leave out honum and just say og dýfa í vatnið, since it is obvious we are still talking about the metal?
No, you generally cannot drop the pronoun here. In Icelandic, you can only drop the second object in a coordinated clause if both verbs take the exact same case. Because there is a case conflict (accusative versus dative), you are required to explicitly state the object again using the correct pronoun for the second verb.
Why is the metal referred to as honum (him) rather than a neuter word for 'it' like því?
Pronouns must agree with the grammatical gender of the noun they replace, not just its natural gender. The word for metal, málmur, is masculine. So, when referring to it in the dative case, you must use the masculine dative pronoun honum.
Why is it í vatnið (accusative) instead of í vatninu (dative)?
The preposition í governs the accusative case when there is motion or direction into a place, and the dative when something is stationary inside a place. Dipping the metal is an action of moving it into the water, so vatnið takes the accusative case.
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