Faroese prepositions controlling akkusativ and dativ

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Fyrisetingar, ið stýra hvønn- og hvørjumfalli

The preposition most often controls akkusativ, when speaking of a movement from one place to another or changed environments, and the same preposition controls dativ, when staying at the same place or unchanged environments.

á (on, ?)

Hann fór á dyr. - He went out. (akkusativ)
Hann stóð á sama staðnum. - He stood on the same spot. (dativ)
Hann rann aftan á meg. - He ran after me. (akkusativ - first me, then him)
Hann rann aftan á mær. - He ran behind me. (dativ - both ran at the same time)

í (in(to))

Tey fóru í kirkjuna. - They went into the church. (akkusativ)
Tey vóru í kirkjuni. - They were in the church. (dativ)

undir (under)

Bólturin rullaði undir málmannin. - The ball rolled under the goalkeeper. (akkusativ)
Bólturin lá undir málmanninum. - The ball lay under the goalkeeper. (dativ)

yvir (above/over)

Hon ferðast yvir land. - She travels on land. (akkusativ)
Hann ráddi yvir mær. - He controlled me. (dativ)

Sometimes it doesn't seem so easy to write rules on whether the preposition controls akkusativ or dativ. But timestamps usually control akkusativ.

eftir (after)

Eftir kríggið komu tey saman aftur. - They were reunited after the war. (akkusativ)
Tey runnu eftir mær. - They ran after me. (dativ)

fyri (for/before)

Fyri kríggið kendust tey eitt sindur. - They knew eachother a bit before the war. (akkusativ)
Tey spældu fyri honum. - They played for him. (dativ)

við (with/at/by)

Teir bardust við hann. - They fought with him. (akkusativ)
Hon gongur saman við honum. - She's seeing him. (dativ)
Hann stendur við borðið. - He's standing by the table. (akkusativ)
Hann stendur við borðinum á baki. - He's standing with the table at his back. (dativ)

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