Breakdown of Ég gleymdi að slökkva ljósið í eldhúsinu.
ég
I
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
eldhúsið
the kitchen
ljósið
the light
gleyma
to forget
slökkva
to turn off, to extinguish (slökkva á + Dat)
Questions & Answers about Ég gleymdi að slökkva ljósið í eldhúsinu.
I usually see slökkva á for turning things off. Why is it just slökkva ljósið here?
While you use slökkva á with the dative case for most electronic devices (like slökkva á tölvunni for "turn off the computer"), lights are an exception. You directly use slökkva with the accusative case for lights and fires, which is why we see slökkva ljósið.
I learned that the verb gleyma requires the dative case. Why isn't the rest of the sentence affected by this?
The verb gleyma only forces the dative case on a direct noun object, like if you left something behind (ég gleymdi lyklunum, "I forgot the keys"). When you forget to perform an action, you use að plus the infinitive verb (að slökkva). The case of any following objects is decided by that infinitive verb, not by gleyma.
Why does í eldhúsinu take the dative case instead of the accusative?
The preposition í takes the dative case when describing a static location where no movement to a new destination is happening. Since the light is fixed in the kitchen, eldhús takes the dative ending -i and the neuter dative definite article -nu, becoming eldhúsinu.
The word eldhús looks like a compound word. What is its literal meaning?
It literally translates to "fire house." It is a combination of eldur (fire) and hús (house). It is a highly literal term dating back to when the kitchen was simply the room containing the main hearth.
Learn Ég gleymdi að slökkva ljósið í eldhúsinu and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free