Breakdown of Þú verður að fjárfesta í sjóðnum ef þú vilt sjá vöxt.
þú
you
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
sjá
to see
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
verða
to become; will be
ef
if
fjárfesta
to invest
sjóðurinn
the fund
vöxturinn
the growth
Questions & Answers about Þú verður að fjárfesta í sjóðnum ef þú vilt sjá vöxt.
Why is að used after verður but not after vilt?
In Icelandic, the phrase for 'have to' or 'must' is verða að, so the að is a required part of that specific modal phrase. However, the verb vilja (to want) takes an infinitive directly without að, similar to how 'can' or 'will' work in English. Therefore, you say þú verður að fjárfesta (you have to invest) but þú vilt sjá (you want to see).
Why is sjóðnum in the dative case here?
The preposition í governs the dative case when describing a static location or state ('in'), and the accusative for movement ('into'). When you invest money, it sits 'in' the fund, so the masculine noun sjóður takes the dative definite form sjóðnum.
What is the dictionary form of vöxt, and why does it change here?
The nominative dictionary form is vöxtur (growth), which is a strong masculine noun. It changes to the accusative form vöxt (dropping the -ur ending) because it receives the action of the sentence as the direct object of the verb sjá (to see).
How could I rewrite this to use the því... því... (the more... the more...) structure from this lesson?
To say 'The more you invest, the more growth you see,' you would use the comparative degree: Því meira sem þú fjárfestir í sjóðnum, því meiri vöxt munt þú sjá. Notice how meira (more) acts as an adverb for the investing, while meiri is a masculine adjective matching the noun vöxt.
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