Breakdown of Rottan stendur fyrir gatinu í skugganum.
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
standa
to stand
fyrir
in front of
rottan
the rat
gatið
the hole
skugginn
the shadow
Questions & Answers about Rottan stendur fyrir gatinu í skugganum.
Why do we use the dative form gatinu after fyrir?
Because the rat is just standing still (a static location). The preposition fyrir triggers the dative case when indicating where something currently is. If the rat were moving into position in front of the hole, it would take the accusative case.
Why is skugganum also in the dative case?
Just like fyrir, the preposition í (in) takes the dative case when describing a fixed position. The rat is already standing in the shadow, so there is no movement from one place to another.
How do we build the word skugganum?
Does gat follow a similar pattern to become gatinu?
Yes, but gat (hole) is a neuter noun. When we attach the neuter dative definite article, which is -inu, to the word, we get gatinu (the hole).
Learn Rottan stendur fyrir gatinu í skugganum 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