Breakdown of Getur þú spurt konuna hvar rútan stoppar?
þú
you
konan
the woman
hvar
where
spyrja
to ask
stoppa
to stop (moving) / to stop (someone/something)
rútan
the coach
geta
to be able to
Questions & Answers about Getur þú spurt konuna hvar rútan stoppar?
Why is the word order hvar rútan stoppar and not hvar stoppar rútan?
Because this is an indirect question! If you were asking directly, you would say Hvar stoppar rútan? (Where does the coach stop?), putting the verb before the subject. But when you embed it inside another sentence like here, the order switches to subject-verb (rútan stoppar), just like in English.
Why is the verb spyrja (to ask) written as spurt here?
In Icelandic, the helper verb geta (can/to be able to) is special. It does not use the infinitive of the following verb like English does. Instead, it requires the supine form, which looks like the neuter past participle. For spyrja, that form is spurt.
Why is the word for woman written as konuna here?
It is in the accusative case. The verb spyrja requires the person being asked to be in the accusative case. The base word kona becomes konu in the accusative, and adding the definite article (the) makes it konuna.
What case is rútan (the coach) in?
It is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of its own smaller indirect clause (hvar rútan stoppar). The -n at the end is the attached definite article for a feminine noun.
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