Breakdown of Ég rannsaka innbrotið þar sem enginn annar gerir það.
ég
I
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
gera
to do / to make (something) + adjective
annar
other, another; second
enginn
no one / nobody / no (m/f)
rannsaka
to investigate
þar sem
since
innbrotið
the burglary
Questions & Answers about Ég rannsaka innbrotið þar sem enginn annar gerir það.
How does the pro-verb construction gerir það function in this sentence?
It replaces the active verb phrase rannsakar innbrotið to avoid repetition. Just like English uses "does so" or "does it", Icelandic uses the verb gera (to do) plus the pronoun það (it) to refer back to the previously mentioned action.
Could I use af því að instead of þar sem here?
Yes, they are mostly interchangeable in this context. Af því að means directly "because", while þar sem translates more closely to "since" or "given that". Using þar sem is great for introducing a contextual reason and makes your Icelandic sound more varied and natural at a B2 level.
Why is enginn annar in the masculine form if we don't know who the "no one" is?
In Icelandic, when referring to a general, unspecified person (like "no one", "someone", or "anyone"), the default grammatical gender is masculine. It takes the nominative case here because it acts as the subject of the second clause.
How is the word innbrotið formed?
It is a highly literal compound of inn (in) and brot (a break or violation), meaning "burglary" or "break-in". It is a neuter noun shown here with the definite article suffix -ið, and it is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb rannsaka.
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