Breakdown of Síminn virðist vera of heitur, svo ég tek snúruna úr innstungunni.
ég
I
vera
to be
heitur
hot
taka
to take
Questions & Answers about Síminn virðist vera of heitur, svo ég tek snúruna úr innstungunni.
Why does Síminn end with -inn?
Sími means phone (masculine). Adding -inn makes it definite: síminn = the phone.
So Síminn is sími + -inn in the nominative singular (the subject form).
What is virðist exactly (tense/person), and what verb does it come from?
virðist is 3rd person singular, present tense of the verb virðast (to seem / appear).
So Síminn virðist ... = The phone seems ...
Why is there vera after virðist? Could you just say Síminn virðist of heitur?
Icelandic commonly uses virðast + infinitive to describe what something seems to be/do:
- virðist vera = seems to be
So Síminn virðist vera of heitur is a very natural equivalent of English seems to be too hot.
You can sometimes see structures without vera (especially with some adjectives), but virðist vera + adjective is straightforward and very common—good as a learner default.
Why is heitur in that form? Shouldn’t it agree with something?