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Questions & Answers about Þetta þýðir ekkert.
What do the individual words Þetta þýðir ekkert mean, word-for-word?
- Þetta – this (a neuter demonstrative pronoun)
- þýðir – means (3rd person singular present of the verb þýða “to mean / to translate”)
- ekkert – nothing or not anything (a negative pronoun/adverb)
So literally: Þetta þýðir ekkert = This means nothing.
What exactly is Þetta grammatically, and what does it refer to?
- Þetta is a demonstrative pronoun, meaning this.
- It is neuter singular, nominative.
- In this sentence it is the subject of the verb þýðir.
It usually refers to some situation, statement, action, or thing that has just been mentioned or is visible/obvious from context, much like English this in This doesn’t mean anything.
What verb form is þýðir, and what is the infinitive?