Breakdown of Ég var hjá krakkanum, en þú varst hjá leikföngunum.
vera
to be
ég
I
þú
you
en
but
leikfangið
the toy
hjá
next to / at (someone's) place, with
krakkinn
the kid
Questions & Answers about Ég var hjá krakkanum, en þú varst hjá leikföngunum.
Why are both krakkanum and leikföngunum in the dative case here?
They both come right after the preposition hjá (by / next to). This preposition always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case.
Since they both end in similar ways, how do I know leikföngunum is plural but krakkanum is singular?
The standard dative plural definite ending for all nouns is -unum, which gives us leikföngunum (the toys). krakkanum (the kid) is singular; it is the dative singular form krakka with the singular masculine "the" ending -num attached.
The dictionary word for "toy" is leikfang. Why does it have an ö here (leikföngunum)?
This is due to a rule called the U-shift. When a noun takes an ending containing the letter u—like the dative plural endings -um or -unum—an a in the root word usually changes to ö. So, leikfang changes to leikföng- before adding the plural ending.
Why is the word for "was/were" spelled two different ways (var and varst)?
var is the past tense of vera (to be) for ég (I) and third-person pronouns (he, she, it). When you use þú (you singular), you have to add the -st ending, making it þú varst (you were).
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