Breakdown of Maður kastar salti yfir öxlina.
yfir
past / over, across
saltið
the salt
kasta
to throw
maður
one (impersonal pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Maður kastar salti yfir öxlina.
Why is maður translated as "you" instead of "man" in this sentence?
While maður literally means "man" or "person", it is being used here as an impersonal pronoun. This is just like using "one" or the general "you" in English, such as in the phrase "you win some, you lose some".
Why does the word for salt have an "i" at the end (salti)?
The verb kasta (to throw) requires its object to be in the dative case. The neuter word salt becomes salti in the dative. Verbs of throwing, moving, or shooting things very often force their objects into the dative case in Icelandic.
Why doesn't the Icelandic sentence literally say "your shoulder"?
In Icelandic, when talking about body parts, you typically just use the definite article attached to the noun (meaning "the shoulder") rather than a possessive word like "your". Also, since maður is an impersonal "you", there isn't a specific person to own the shoulder anyway!
Why is öxlina in the accusative case here?
The preposition yfir (over) takes the accusative case when it describes movement or direction towards a place, like throwing something over a shoulder. If the salt were already resting on the shoulder with no movement, yfir would take the dative case instead.