Learn Icelandic: Kötturinn er fyrir hurðinni. - The cat is in front of the door.

The preposition fyrir takes the dative case when it describes a fixed position or location. Because the cat is situated in front of the door and not actively moving to a new destination, we use the dative.

I've seen fyrir used to mean 'for'. Why does it mean 'in front of' here?

Prepositions in Icelandic often have several different meanings based on the context. While fyrir often translates to 'for', when you are talking about physical placement and locations, it means 'in front of' or 'before'.

How does the word hurð change into hurðinni?

Hurð is a feminine noun meaning 'door'. To say 'the door' in the dative case, you add the feminine dative definite article ending, which is -inni. That makes it hurðinni.

Would the case change if the cat were moving?

Yes! If you were describing movement towards a destination, like the cat running to get in front of the door, fyrir would take the accusative case. Because this sentence is about a stationary location, we use the dative.