Breakdown of Jógakennarinn biður strákinn að teygja sig vel.
strákurinn
the boy
vel
well
að
to (infinitive marker)
sig
himself/herself/themselves (acc)
biðja
to ask for (biðja um)
teygja
to stretch
jógakennarinn
the yoga teacher
Questions & Answers about Jógakennarinn biður strákinn að teygja sig vel.
Why do we use the reflexive pronoun sig here instead of hann, and who is it referring to?
Sig refers to strákinn (the boy), not the yoga teacher. This is object-controlled reflexivization. Because the boy is the implied subject of the infinitive verb að teygja (he is the one doing the stretching), the reflexive pronoun sig points back to him as the object of the main sentence. If the teacher wanted the boy to stretch the teacher's limbs, we would use a regular pronoun like hann or hana.
Is teygja always used with a reflexive pronoun when talking about exercising?
Yes, when you mean to stretch your own body in a physical or athletic sense, you use the reflexive phrase teygja sig. If you just use teygja without a reflexive pronoun, it means to stretch a physical object, like a rubber band or a piece of clothing, and takes that item as a direct object.
Why is strákinn in the accusative case here?
The verb biðja (to ask or request) governs the accusative case for the person being asked. Therefore, the nominative strákurinn changes to the accusative strákinn.
If the yoga teacher asked multiple boys to stretch, how would the reflexive pronoun change?
It would stay exactly the same! The reflexive pronoun sig is used for both singular and plural third-person objects in the accusative case. The sentence would simply become: Jógakennarinn biður strákana að teygja sig vel.
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