Breakdown of Hver trúir slæma glæpamanninum án nýju sönnunarinnar?
nýr
new
hver
who / what / which (one)
trúa
to believe
slæmur
bad
án
without
sönnunin
the proof
glæpamaðurinn
the criminal
Questions & Answers about Hver trúir slæma glæpamanninum án nýju sönnunarinnar?
Why are we using the dative case for slæma glæpamanninum (the bad criminal)?
The verb trúa (to believe) requires its object to be in the dative case, rather than taking a standard direct object in the accusative case.
If it is dative masculine, shouldn't "bad" be slæmum? Why is it slæma?
Because of the definite article! The noun has the "the" suffix attached (glæpamanninum). Whenever an adjective comes before a definite noun, we must use the weak declension. For masculine singular weak adjectives, the accusative, dative, and genitive forms all end in -a.
Why is the phrase nýju sönnunarinnar (the new proof) in the genitive case?
The preposition án (without) always forces the noun phrase that follows it into the genitive case. Here, the feminine noun sönnun (proof) gets the genitive definite suffix -innar.
How does the weak adjective nýju (new) match the feminine genitive noun?
Because the noun is definite, the adjective uses the weak declension. Feminine weak adjectives end in -a in the nominative, but they change their ending to -u in all of the oblique cases (accusative, dative, and genitive). So, nýja becomes nýju.
Learn Hver trúir slæma glæpamanninum án nýju sönnunarinnar 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