Breakdown of Ef hún skildi þverstæðuna, myndi hún hræðast afleiðingarnar.
hún
she
skilja
to understand
hræðast
to fear
ef
if
myndi
would (singular)
þverstæðan
the paradox
afleiðingin
the consequence
Questions & Answers about Ef hún skildi þverstæðuna, myndi hún hræðast afleiðingarnar.
Is skildi in the past subjunctive here, even though it looks exactly like the normal past tense?
Yes, it is the past subjunctive. For the verb skilja (to understand), the 3rd person singular form skildi happens to be identical in both the past indicative and the past subjunctive. You can tell it is the hypothetical subjunctive here because it directly follows ef (if) and pairs with myndi (would) in the main clause.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with myndi hún instead of hún myndi?
Why does the verb hræðast end in -st?
This is a middle voice verb. The -st ending has a few different functions in Icelandic, but for certain verbs like hræðast (to fear) or ferðast (to travel), it is simply part of their default dictionary form. Even though it has this special ending, it still acts like an active verb and takes a normal direct object (afleiðingarnar).
How do we break down the grammar of the word þverstæðuna?
The base word is þverstæða, a feminine noun meaning paradox. The verb skilja requires its object to be in the accusative case, which changes the -a ending to a -u, making it þverstæðu. Finally, the definite article is attached to the end. For an accusative feminine noun, the added article is -na, giving us þverstæðuna (the paradox).
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