Breakdown of Viðskiptavinurinn spyr af hverju við afbókum ekki fundinn.
ekki
not
við
we
spyrja
to ask
af hverju
why
fundurinn
the meeting
viðskiptavinurinn
the customer
afbóka
to cancel
Questions & Answers about Viðskiptavinurinn spyr af hverju við afbókum ekki fundinn.
Why is ekki placed after afbókum in this clause?
In English, we put the negative before the main verb by using a helper verb ("we do not cancel"). In Icelandic, the word order in a subordinate clause (like the one starting with af hverju) usually keeps the same structure as a normal sentence: Subject + Verb + ekki. So við afbókum ekki literally reads as "we cancel not".
What is the literal translation of viðskiptavinurinn?
It literally translates to "the business friend"! It is a compound word made up of viðskipti (business) and vinur (friend), topped off with the masculine definite article -inn (the) attached to the end.
Why is the meeting fundinn here instead of the dictionary form fundurinn?
Because the meeting is the direct object receiving the action of being canceled, it must be in the accusative case. The masculine noun fundur drops its "-ur" ending to become fund in the accusative. When you attach the definite article meaning "the", you get fundinn.
Why does the word for "why" look like it means "of what" (af hverju)?
Because it does! The most common way to say "why" in Icelandic is the phrase af hverju. The preposition af means "of" or "from" and it forces the following word into the dative case. Hverju is the dative form of hvað (what).
Is the verb afbókum related to the English word "book"?
Yes, it comes from the verb bóka which means "to book". The prefix af- often means "off" or "away". So afbóka literally means "to un-book", which is exactly how you say "cancel" for appointments and meetings. Here it ends in -um because the subject is við (we).
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