endast

Estonian

Noun

endast

1. elative singular of enda

Icelandic

Etymology

From enda +‎ -st.

Verb

endast (middle voice, weak conjugation, entist, enst)

1. to last, to endure [with dative ‘for someone’]

   Bensínið endist' enn þá.

   There is still enough gas.

   (literally, “The gas is still lasting.”)

   Bensínið endist' mér enn þá.

   There is still enough gas for me.

   (literally, “The gas is still lasting for me.”)

   Þetta starf hentar honum ekki. ― This job doesn't suit him.

2. (third person only, quirky subject) to last, to endure (for) [with preceding dative ‘experiencer’ and following nominative ‘thing which lasts’] (idiomatically translated as “still have” or “not run out of”, with the dative object as the logical subject)

   Mér endist ekki þolinmæðin.

   I am running out of patience.

   (literally, “For me the patience doesn't last.”)

   Mér entist/entust þessir peningar ekki lengi.

   I soon ran out of (the) money.

   (literally, “For me these funds didn't last long.”)

   Mér endist bensínið enn þá.

   I still have enough gas.

   (literally, “For me the gas is still lasting.”)

Usage notes

• The verb endast is a so-called alternating dative-nominative verb, i.e. a verb where two different possibilities are allowed for the word order of the subject and object. These are experiential verbs, typically expressing suitability, adequacy or benefit, where the (typically animate) experiencer is in the dative case but may be placed before or after the verb, and the (typically inanimate) trigger is in the nominative case and is placed in the opposite position. Whichever argument occurs before the verb behaves for most purposes as the logical subject despite its case marking. Canonical examples are nægja (“to suffice (for someone)”), duga (“to be enough (for someone)”), henta (“to suit (someone)”), endast (“to last (for someone)”) and gagnast (“to be of use (to someone)”). For example:
  1. With experiencer (dative case) as the subject: Mér nægja(r) þessir peningar. ― I find this money enough. (literally, “For me is/are enough these funds.”)
  2. With trigger (nominative case) as the subject: Þessir peningar nægja mér. ― This money is enough for me. (literally, “These funds are enough for me.”)
• As shown, with a dative subject, the verb may or may not agree in number with the logical nominative object, but with a nominative subject, agreement is mandatory. Furthermore, with a dative subject, the verb must be in the third person, and a first or second person pronoun cannot be the object; only the nominative-dative order is possible in this situation.
• Such verbs should be contrasted with strict dative-nominative verbs, which allow only the dative-nominative order. Canonical examples are blöskra (“to be shocked by”), líka (“to like”), leiðast (“to be bored by”), þykja (“to think/find/seem”) and áskotnast (“to receive/obtain by luck, to luck into (something)”). Such verbs behave the same way as alternating dative-nominative verbs in that the number agreement is optional and the verb is third-person-only. Such verbs cannot be used with a first or second-person pronoun; e.g. to express the equivalent of “I am shocked by you”, a different verb must be used.
• In Wiktionary, we first express the literal definition from the perspective of the nominative argument, and then add a note indicating how it is to be translated idiomatically.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

endast

1. passive infinitive of enda

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

endast (not comparable)

1. only

Synonyms

• bara

Further reading

• “endast”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• staden, stenad