Breakdown of Stelpurnar skoruðu stig, en þær spiluðu verr.
en
but
stelpan
the girl
þær
they (f)
spila
to play
verr
worse (adverb)
skora
to score
stigið
the point
Questions & Answers about Stelpurnar skoruðu stig, en þær spiluðu verr.
The sentence uses verr for "worse". What is the base form of this word, and why don't we use verri here?
Verr is the irregular comparative form of the adverb illa (badly). It is an adverb here because it describes how they played, modifying the verb spiluðu. You would use the adjective verri if you were describing a noun, such as a worse team or a worse score.
The translation says "scored a point," but doesn't stig also mean "points"?
Exactly. Stig is a neuter noun that has the exact same form in the singular and plural for both the nominative and accusative cases. Without extra context, this sentence could also be translated as "The girls scored points."
Why does the sentence use þær for "they" instead of þeir or þau?
In Icelandic, the pronoun "they" changes based on grammatical gender. Since stelpurnar (the girls) is a feminine plural noun, you must use the feminine plural pronoun þær to refer back to them in the second half of the sentence.
Both verbs (skoruðu and spiluðu) end in -u. What does this ending tell us?
The -u ending is the standard past tense marker for the third-person plural (they). Both skora (to score) and spila (to play) are regular verbs, so they take this predictable ending when paired with plural subjects like stelpurnar and þær.
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