Breakdown of Landkönnuðurinn gæfi okkur birgðirnar þótt frostið væri mikið.
vera
to be
við
we
gefa
to give
mikill
great, much (adjective)
landkönnuðurinn
the explorer
birgðirnar
the supplies
þótt
although
frostið
the frost
Questions & Answers about Landkönnuðurinn gæfi okkur birgðirnar þótt frostið væri mikið.
How is the past subjunctive gæfi formed from the verb gefa?
Gefa (to give) is a strong verb. To form the past subjunctive, we look at the past plural stem, which is gáf- (from við gáfum), and apply a vowel shift (i-umlaut). The vowel á shifts to æ. Then we add the subjunctive ending -i for the third-person singular, giving us gæfi.
Why are both verbs in this sentence (gæfi and væri) in the subjunctive mood?
The first verb, gæfi (would give), is in the subjunctive to express a hypothetical situation (what the explorer would do). The second verb, væri (were), is in the subjunctive because it directly follows the conjunction þótt (even if / although), which always forces the following verb into the subjunctive mood.
Why is okkur used here, and what case is birgðirnar?
The verb gefa (to give) takes two objects: a recipient in the dative case and the thing being given in the accusative case. Okkur (us) is the dative recipient, and birgðirnar (the supplies) is the accusative object.
Is væri formed the same way as other strong verbs in the past subjunctive?
Not quite. While væri is the past subjunctive for vera (to be) and has the expected -i ending, vera is a highly irregular verb. Its past plural is vorum, but the past subjunctive stem unexpectedly becomes vær-. It is best to simply memorize væri since it is one of the most common subjunctive verbs you will encounter.
Why is the adjective mikið in the neuter form here?
Mikið (severe/great) is acting as a predicate adjective describing the noun frostið (the frost). Because frost is a neuter noun in the nominative case, the adjective must match it in gender, number, and case, taking the neuter singular nominative form mikið.
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