Breakdown of Á myndinni er sá í miðjunni mjög myndarlegur.
vera
to be
myndin
the picture
mjög
very
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
sá
that (demonstrative)
miðjan
the middle
myndarlegur
handsome
Questions & Answers about Á myndinni er sá í miðjunni mjög myndarlegur.
Why use the demonstrative pronoun sá here instead of a regular pronoun like hann?
The word sá means 'that one' or 'the one'. We use it here to point out a specific person among others, like saying 'the one in the middle'. It is in the masculine nominative form because it acts as the subject of the sentence, and it tells us the person being referred to is male.
Why does the verb er come right after Á myndinni instead of after the subject?
This is due to the V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Á myndinni (In the picture), the verb er must take the second grammatical slot. This pushes the subject sá (that one) into the third position.
Why is the word myndinni (the picture) in the dative case here?
The preposition á triggers the dative case when it describes a static location, meaning where something is situated right now. Since the person is simply located in the picture, rather than moving onto it, we use the dative definite form of the feminine noun mynd.
What dictates the ending of the adjective myndarlegur (handsome)?
Adjectives must always match the gender, number, and case of the pronoun or noun they describe. Because the subject sá is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case, myndarlegur must also be in its masculine singular nominative form.
Why is miðjunni (the middle) in the definite form instead of just miðju?
Just like in English, Icelandic refers to 'the middle' as a specific, defined spot. Therefore, the feminine noun miðja takes the attached definite article. It is in the dative case (miðjunni) because it follows the preposition í to show a static location.
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