Breakdown of Ókunnugur maður gengur um hverfið en hann gerir það sjaldan.
hann
he
en
but
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
maðurinn
the man
gera
to do / to make (something) + adjective
ganga
to walk
um
around
sjaldan
rarely
hverfið
the neighborhood
ókunnugur
unfamiliar
Questions & Answers about Ókunnugur maður gengur um hverfið en hann gerir það sjaldan.
What exactly does gerir það replace in the second clause?
It replaces the entire active predicate gengur um hverfið (walks around the neighborhood). Just like 'does so' in English, the pro-verb construction gera það is used to avoid repeating the verb phrase.
Does the pronoun það in gerir það change case depending on the verb it replaces?
No, it remains fixed. In this construction, það functions as the direct object of gera (to do), representing the whole action. It does not take on the case of the original verb's object. Even though hverfið was in the accusative here, það would stay the same even if the replaced verb governed the dative or genitive.
Why do we need the preposition um after gengur?
The verb ganga alone simply means 'to walk' or 'to go.' Adding the preposition um creates the phrasal verb ganga um, meaning to walk 'around' or 'about' a certain area. This preposition governs the accusative case, which is why we see the form hverfið.
Why does the sentence use ókunnugur instead of the weak form ókunnugi?
Since we are talking about an unfamiliar man in general (indefinite), the adjective takes the strong declension ókunnugur. If we were talking about a specific, known man ('the unfamiliar man'), we would use the weak declension and the definite article on the noun: ókunnugi maðurinn.
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