Breakdown of Sama hvaða vögguvísu ég syng, hann hlustar ekki.
ég
I
hann
he
ekki
not
hlusta
to listen
syngja
to sing
hvaða
which, what
sama
the same / matters not
vögguvísan
the lullaby
Questions & Answers about Sama hvaða vögguvísu ég syng, hann hlustar ekki.
How does sama hvaða work in this sentence compared to the basic sama hvað?
Why is vögguvísu in the accusative case even though it comes at the beginning of the phrase?
It is the direct object of the verb syng (sing). The verb syngja takes the accusative case for the song being sung. The question word hvaða pulls the noun it modifies to the front of the clause, but the noun keeps the case dictated by its grammatical role in the sentence.
Shouldn't the main clause invert to hlustar hann ekki because of the V2 (verb-second) rule?
Normally, yes. When a subordinate clause starts a sentence, the main clause usually inverts so its verb comes second overall. However, clauses starting with sama are a common exception in Icelandic. They are typically treated as extra-clausal or parenthetical expressions, so the main clause simply keeps its standard subject-verb order (hann hlustar ekki).
How is the compound word vögguvísu formed?
It is a compound of two weak feminine nouns: vagga (cradle) and vísa (verse or song). When forming the compound, the first noun takes its genitive singular form (vöggu), giving us vögguvísa (lullaby). In this sentence, we see it in its accusative form, vögguvísu.
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