Breakdown of Ég spilaði verst, en við fengum samt bikarinn!
ég
I
en
but
við
we
spila
to play
fá
to get
samt
still, anyway, even so
verst
worst (adverb / neuter)
bikarinn
the cup (trophy / goblet)
Questions & Answers about Ég spilaði verst, en við fengum samt bikarinn!
Why do we use verst here instead of an adjective form like verstur?
In this sentence, verst (worst) is acting as an adverb because it describes how you played, modifying the verb spilaði. Unlike adjectives, adverbs do not change endings to match gender or number, so it stays as verst regardless of who is speaking. If you were describing a noun, like saying "I am the worst player", you would use an adjective like verstur.
What is the base form (the positive degree) of the adverb verst?
The base form is the adverb illa (badly or poorly). Just like in English, this word is highly irregular: illa (badly) becomes verr (worse) and then verst (worst).
fengum looks totally different from its dictionary form. What verb is this?
This is the past tense "we" form of the common but highly irregular verb fá (to get or receive). Its past tense forms are a good thing to review: "I got" is ég fékk, but "we got" shifts the root completely to við fengum.
Why is samt placed after the verb fengum instead of before it?
samt means "still", "nevertheless", or "anyway". In Icelandic main clauses, the verb almost always has to be the second element (the V2 rule). Since the subject við comes first after the conjunction, the verb fengum must come immediately second, pushing adverbs like samt further down the sentence.
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