Breakdown of Hundurinn sem situr á gangstéttinni er mjög kurteis.
vera
to be
hundurinn
the dog
mjög
very
sitja
to sit
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
sem
who / which / that
gangstéttin
the sidewalk
kurteis
polite
Questions & Answers about Hundurinn sem situr á gangstéttinni er mjög kurteis.
Why do we use sem here instead of a specific word for "that" or "who"?
In Icelandic, sem is an incredibly common all-purpose relative pronoun used to mean "who", "which", or "that". The great news for learners is that sem never changes form, regardless of the gender, number, or case of the noun it refers to (in this case, hundurinn).
Why is the word for sidewalk spelled gangstéttinni here?
This word has the definite article attached (meaning "the" sidewalk), and it is in the dative case. The preposition á (on) triggers the dative case when it describes a stationary location, like where the dog is currently sitting. Because gangstétt is a feminine noun, its dative definite form becomes gangstéttinni.
Since this lesson is about middle voice verbs ending in -st, is kurteis an example of one?
No, kurteis is an adjective meaning "polite". The -s at the end is simply part of the root word, not a special ending. The -st suffix you are currently studying only attaches to verbs to change their meaning (like making them reciprocal, as in hittumst). In this sentence, the linking verb is simply er (is).
What is the dictionary form (infinitive) of the verb situr?
The infinitive is sitja (to sit). In the present tense, it conjugates as ég sit, þú situr, and hann/hún/það situr. Here, it takes the third-person singular form to match hundurinn (the dog).
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