The light-verb layer
Icelandic argumentation runs on fixed verb + noun + preposition units. The noun is often a word you know — áherslan, ábyrgðin, áhrifin, tillitssemin — but the VERB that goes with it cannot be guessed, and the case after the preposition is fixed. Learn each unit whole.
| unit | meaning | pattern |
|---|---|---|
| halda því fram | to claim | + að-clause |
| gera ráð fyrir | to assume, to expect | + dat / að-clause |
| leggja áherslu á | to emphasize | + acc |
| gera grein fyrir | to account for | + dat |
| taka tillit til | to take into account | + gen |
| hafa áhrif á | to have an effect on | + acc |
| bera ábyrgð á | to be responsible for | + dat |
| vekja athygli á | to draw attention to | + dat |
Cause and consequence
leiða til (+ gen) is what causes do in writing; draga úr (+ dat) shrinks a thing; byggjast á (+ dat) is what conclusions do on evidence; snúast um (+ acc) is what a debate is really about.
Using them
With the connectives you now have — hins vegar, engu að síður, þar af leiðandi, í stuttu máli — these units are the whole skeleton of an Icelandic opinion piece: state the claim (halda því fram), ground it (byggjast á), weigh the other side (taka tillit til), and say who owns the problem (bera ábyrgð á).
