Word
Hundurinn var að elta þjófinn.
Meaning
The dog was chasing the thief.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Hundurinn var að elta þjófinn.
vera
to be
hundurinn
the dog
að
to (infinitive marker)
þjófurinn
the thief
Questions & Answers about Hundurinn var að elta þjófinn.
How does the past continuous "was chasing" work here?
It uses the past tense of vera (to be) + að + the infinitive verb. In this sentence, we have var (was) + að + elta (to chase). This structure is used to describe an ongoing action in the past, matching the English "was doing something" pattern perfectly!
Why is the word for "the thief" spelled þjófinn instead of þjófurinn?
Þjófinn is in the accusative case because the thief is the direct object receiving the action of the verb elta (to chase). The base word is þjófur (thief). In the accusative, þjófur drops its ending to become þjóf, and when you attach the accusative definite article, it becomes þjófinn.
What case is hundurinn in?
It is in the nominative case because the dog is the subject performing the action. The base word is hundur (a dog). For masculine nouns in the nominative, we attach -inn to mean "the", making it hundurinn.
Could I just say Hundurinn elti þjófinn instead?
Yes, but it changes the meaning slightly. Hundurinn elti þjófinn is the simple past tense, meaning "The dog chased the thief." Using var að elta emphasizes that the chasing was an ongoing, continuous action at that specific moment in the past.