Breakdown of Við sjáum kirkjuna frá þessum turni.
við
we
sjá
to see
frá
from
þessi
this (m/f)
turninn
the tower
kirkjan
the church
Questions & Answers about Við sjáum kirkjuna frá þessum turni.
Why does the sentence use þessum turni instead of þessi turn?
The preposition frá (from) always forces the words that follow it into the dative case. Because turn (tower) is a masculine noun, the demonstrative pronoun þessi (this) changes to its masculine dative form, þessum.
I noticed þessum ends in -um. Does that mean it is a plural word here?
Not in this case! While -um is the standard ending for almost all dative plural words, þessum is uniquely also the dative singular form for masculine words. Since turni is singular (one tower), þessum is singular here too. (If it were plural "towers", it would be frá þessum turnum).
Why does the word for tower change to turni?
Just like the word for "this" changes case, the noun itself must also match. Because frá triggers the dative case, the standard masculine noun turn gets the common dative singular ending -i, becoming turni.
Why is the word for "the church" kirkjuna and not kirkjan?
The verb sjá (to see) requires its object to be in the accusative case. Kirkjan is the basic nominative form of "the church". Because it is receiving the action of being seen, it changes to its feminine accusative definite form, kirkjuna.
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