Questions & Answers about Mengun hefur vond áhrif á heilsuna okkar.
What does each word in “Mengun hefur vond áhrif á heilsuna okkar” literally mean?
Word by word:
- Mengun – pollution (a feminine noun, uncountable)
- hefur – has (3rd person singular of hafa, to have)
- vond – bad (adjective, here in neuter plural form)
- áhrif – effects / influence / impact (neuter plural noun; literally effects)
- á – on / to / onto / about; here, part of the expression hafa áhrif á e‑t = to have an effect on something
- heilsuna – the health (heilsa = health, accusative singular with the definite article: the health)
- okkar – our (genitive plural of við, we)
So the sentence is literally: “Pollution has bad effects on the health of us.” → “Pollution has a bad effect on our health.”
Why is hefur used here and not er? In English we just say “Pollution is bad for our health.”