Breakdown of Hann hefur aldrei séð minnisvarðann í borginni.
hann
he
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
sjá
to see
borgin
the city (f)
aldrei
never
hafa
to have
minnisvarðinn
the monument
Questions & Answers about Hann hefur aldrei séð minnisvarðann í borginni.
How do we get the form séð from the verb sjá?
Séð is the supine form of the strong verb sjá (to see), which you use after the helper verb hefur. Strong verbs often change their core vowel in the supine. Here, the á changes to é, and we add the -ð ending.
Why is aldrei placed between hefur and séð?
Why is the monument translated as minnisvarðann instead of its dictionary form?
The verb sjá forces its object into the accusative case. The dictionary form is the masculine noun minnisvarði. In the accusative, it changes to minnisvarða, and adding the definite article suffix (the) gives us minnisvarðann.
Why does borginni have the -inni ending here?
The preposition í takes the dative case when talking about a stationary location (being inside the city). The root word is the feminine noun borg, and -inni is the definite article suffix for feminine dative nouns, making it mean the city.
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