Skoðanir og rök — opinions and arguments

Saying what you think

You already know mér finnst and ég held að. This lesson adds the discourse frame around them.

að mínu mati — in my opinion: In my opinion this is the right decision.

Að mínu mati er þetta rétt ákvörðun.hins vegar — on the other hand, introduces the counterpoint. á móti (+ dative) — against, opposed to: I am completely against this idea.Ég er alveg á móti þessari hugmynd.þrátt fyrir (+ accusative) — despite.

Weighing both sides

move	Icelandic
in my view	að mínu mati
on the other hand	hins vegar
despite X	þrátt fyrir X (acc.)
for / against	með / á móti

Supporting a claim

rökstyðja is to justify with arguments (rökin): You need to justify your opinion.

Þú þarft að rökstyðja skoðunina þína. fjalla um is what a text or talk does — it deals with a topic. lýsa (+ dative) is to describe. reyndar softens or corrects: actually, in fact. sem betur fer is the positive twin of því miður — fortunately.

Describing people fairly

persónuleikinn is the personality; sæmilegur means decent, passable — praise with reservations.