Þó að hún sé enn kvíðin, reynir hún að vera hugrökk og svara skýrt.

Þó að is the conjunction meaning although / even though.

• þó by itself can mean though / however
• að is the subordinating word that helps introduce the clause

So together, þó að hún sé enn kvíðin means although she is still anxious.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern for concessive clauses: one fact is true, but the main clause happens anyway.

Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be).

After þó að, Icelandic often uses the subjunctive, especially in more careful or standard language. So:

• hún er = she is
• hún sé = she be / she is, in a subjunctive environment

English does not usually make this distinction clearly, so this often feels strange to learners.

A simple way to think of it is:

• þó að often triggers the subjunctive
• so vera becomes sé

This is because Icelandic is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Here, the whole subordinate clause comes first:

Þó að hún sé enn kvíðin

That entire chunk takes the first position. Then the finite verb of the main clause must come second:

• reynir = second position
• hún = comes after it

So:

• Þó að hún sé enn kvíðin, reynir hún ...

This is very normal Icelandic word order.

Because there are two clauses, and each clause needs its own subject.

1. Þó að hún sé enn kvíðin
2. reynir hún að vera hugrökk og svara skýrt

Even though both clauses refer to the same person, Icelandic still states the subject in each clause.

So the repetition is not redundant; it is just normal grammar.

Enn here means still.

So:

• hún sé enn kvíðin = she is still anxious

Its placement is normal Icelandic word order:

• subject: hún
• verb: sé
• adverb: enn
• predicate adjective: kvíðin

So the order is basically she is still anxious, just as in English.

Kvíðin is the adjective agreeing with hún.

The base form is often given as kvíðinn (anxious, worried), but adjectives change form to match gender, number, and case.

Here the subject is:

• hún = feminine singular nominative

So the adjective also appears in the feminine singular nominative form:

• masculine: kvíðinn
• feminine: kvíðin
• neuter: kvíðið

Because it comes after sé as a predicate adjective, it still agrees with the subject.

For the same reason: the adjective has to agree with the understood subject, which is still hún.

The infinitive phrase is:

að vera hugrökk = to be brave

Even though the subject is not repeated inside that infinitive phrase, it is understood to be hún. So the adjective appears in the feminine singular form.

Compare:

• hann reynir að vera hugrakkur = he tries to be brave
• hún reynir að vera hugrökk = she tries to be brave

So hugrökk is the correct feminine form here.

Because að can apply to both infinitives when they are linked by og.

So:

• að vera hugrökk og svara skýrt

means:

• to be brave and answer clearly

Both vera and svara are infinitives dependent on reynir.

You could think of it as:

• reynir [að vera hugrökk] og [að svara skýrt]

The second að is simply left out because it is understood.

Here, skýrt is an adverb, meaning clearly.

It modifies the verb svara:

• svara skýrt = answer clearly

This can be confusing because skýrt is also the neuter singular form of the adjective skýr (clear). In Icelandic, adverbs often look like the neuter adjective form.

So in this sentence, it is best understood as:

• skýrt = clearly

not

• skýrt = clear

Yes. Svara can be used on its own in the sense of answer / reply / respond when the context makes the object obvious.

So svara skýrt simply means:

• answer clearly
• respond clearly

If you do name what is being answered, Icelandic often uses the dative:

• svara spurningunni = answer the question
• svara honum = answer him

But leaving the object out is completely natural here.

It has two main parts:

1. Þó að hún sé enn kvíðin

   • subordinate clause
   • introduced by þó að
   • uses subjunctive sé

2. reynir hún að vera hugrökk og svara skýrt

   • main clause
   • finite verb reynir comes before hún because of V2 word order

So the pattern is:

• Although + subordinate clause, main clause

This is a very useful model sentence for learning:

• concessive clause with þó að
• subjunctive after that clause
• V2 in the main clause
• infinitive phrase with að
• adjective agreement
• adverb use with skýrt