Breakdown of Ég bið nemandann að halla sér á dýnuna.
ég
I
nemandinn
the student
að
to (infinitive marker)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
biðja
to ask for (biðja um)
dýnan
the mat
halla sér
to lean
Questions & Answers about Ég bið nemandann að halla sér á dýnuna.
Usually, reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. Why does sér refer to nemandann instead of Ég?
In Icelandic, infinitival clauses often treat the object of the main verb as their own logical subject. Since nemandann (the student) is the one actually doing the leaning, it acts as the subject for the verb að halla. Therefore, the reflexive sér points back to the student, not the main subject Ég. This is known as object-controlled reflexivization.
Why is the reflexive pronoun in the dative form (sér) instead of the accusative (sig)?
The verb halla (to lean) dictates the case of its object. It requires the dative case for whatever is being leaned. Since the student is physically leaning themselves, the reflexive pronoun must take the dative form sér.
Why is nemandann in the accusative case here?
The main verb is biðja (to ask or request), which takes an accusative object for the person being asked. Nemandann is the accusative, definite form of the masculine weak noun nemandi.
Why do we use the accusative dýnuna after the preposition á instead of the dative?
The preposition á triggers the accusative case when it describes motion or direction toward a destination, like moving onto the mat. If it described a static location (already resting on the mat), it would take the dative form dýnunni.
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