Breakdown of Verður göngustígurinn allur malbikaður?
verða
to become; will be
allur
all / everything / everyone
göngustígurinn
the footpath
malbika
to pave
Questions & Answers about Verður göngustígurinn allur malbikaður?
Why do we use verður here instead of er?
Verður is a form of the verb verða (to become). When combined with a past participle like malbikaður, it forms the dynamic passive voice. This emphasizes an action that will happen or is a process ('will be paved'). If we used er (from vera), it would form the static passive, describing a current state: Er göngustígurinn malbikaður? ('Is the footpath already paved?').
Why do both allur and malbikaður end in -ur?
Because they both have to agree with the subject, göngustígurinn (the footpath), which is a masculine, singular noun in the nominative case. Past participles in the passive voice behave like adjectives and must perfectly match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.
Why is allur placed after göngustígurinn instead of before it?
In Icelandic, it is very common to put words meaning 'all' or 'whole' after the noun when the noun has the definite article attached to it. So, instead of saying 'all the footpath', you say göngustígurinn allur (literally 'the footpath all').
The word malbikaður looks complicated. How is it formed?
It is the past participle of the verb malbika (to pave with asphalt). This verb is actually a compound made of two shorter words: möl (gravel) and bik (pitch or tar). So it literally means to cover with gravel and tar!
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