Breakdown of Ég hef alltaf treyst lækninum þeirra.
ég
I
læknirinn
the doctor
alltaf
always
þeirra
their / theirs
Questions & Answers about Ég hef alltaf treyst lækninum þeirra.
How do we form the supine treyst from the infinitive treysta?
Treysta (to trust) is a Group 2 weak verb. Normally, these verbs form the supine (sagnbót) by adding -t to the stem. However, because the stem of treysta already ends in -st, we don't add a second -t. We just drop the infinitive -a ending, leaving us with treyst.
Why is the word for doctor in the dative case (lækninum)?
In Icelandic, many verbs require their object to be in a specific case rather than the default accusative. The verb treysta governs the dative case. Since læknir (doctor) is a masculine noun, its dative definite form becomes lækninum (the doctor).
Why doesn't þeirra change its ending to match the dative noun lækninum?
Unlike words for 'my' or 'your' (minn, þinn), the word þeirra (their) is actually the genitive (possessive) case of the pronoun 'they'. It literally means 'of them'. Because it is already a frozen genitive word, it never changes its spelling to match the case, gender, or number of the noun it belongs to.
Could I put alltaf at the end of the sentence, like we often do in English?