Breakdown of Smiðurinn byggir húsið með hamrinum og naglanum.
húsið
the house
og
and
með
with
byggja
to build
Questions & Answers about Smiðurinn byggir húsið með hamrinum og naglanum.
Why are the words for hammer and nail in the dative case here?
The preposition með takes the dative case when it means using an instrument or tool to do something. Because the carpenter is using the hammer and nail as tools, með forces both of them into the dative.
How is the word hamrinum built from the dictionary form hamar?
hamar is a masculine noun. When put into the dative case, it drops its second 'a' and takes an 'i' ending, becoming hamri. Then we add the masculine dative definite article -num (meaning 'the') to the end, resulting in hamrinum.
What is the base form of naglanum?
The dictionary form is nagli (nail). It is a weak masculine noun, which means it ends in a vowel and changes its ending to nagla in the accusative, dative, and genitive cases. Adding the dative definite article -num to nagla gives us naglanum.
Why doesn't húsið change to the dative case like the tools?
húsið (the house) is the direct object being built, so the verb byggir (builds) puts it in the accusative case. The dative case here is only triggered by the preposition með, so it only affects the tool nouns that come after it.