Adjectives of tendency (-samur)

To create adjectives describing a tendency, habit, or propensity, add the suffix -samur to a noun. This works much like the English suffixes "-ful," "-some," or "-ous."

For example, the root for "work" becomes vinnusamur (industrious), and "emotion" becomes tilfinningasamur (emotional).

In the novel, the king is temperamental and emotional.
Í skáldsögunni er kóngurinn skapsamur og tilfinningasamur.

These adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. While the basic masculine form is -samur, the feminine form shifts the vowel to become -söm.

The hero in the adventure is industrious and very sensible.
Hetjan í ævintýrinu er vinnusöm og mjög skynsöm.

Declining "-samur" Adjectives

These adjectives decline exactly like other regular adjectives. When describing a specific, definite noun, they take weak endings (like the masculine weak -sami).

The thoughtful wizard is actually very fortunate.
Hugulsami galdramaðurinn er reyndar mjög gæfusamur.

They also take standard plural and case endings, such as the feminine plural -samar or the masculine accusative -saman.

Many characters are emotional and anxious.
Margar persónur eru tilfinningasamar og áhyggjusamar.
My sister writes about a risky magic spell and a temperamental dragon.
Systir mín skrifar um hættusaman galdur og skapsaman dreka.
The enterprising hero goes on a risky expedition.
Athafnasama hetjan fer í hættusaman leiðangur.

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