Breakdown of Þú þarft að stýra rakanum vel svo að viðkvæmu plönturnar deyi ekki.
þú
you
ekki
not
vel
well
að
to (infinitive marker)
þurfa
to need
plantan
the plant
deyja
to die
svo að
so that
viðkvæmur
delicate
stýra
to control / to steer
rakinn
the humidity
Questions & Answers about Þú þarft að stýra rakanum vel svo að viðkvæmu plönturnar deyi ekki.
Why do we use deyi instead of the regular present tense form deyja?
The conjunction svo að (so that) introduces a clause of purpose, which triggers the subjunctive mood in Icelandic. deyi is the present subjunctive form of deyja (to die) for the third-person plural.
Why is the word for humidity, rakanum, in the dative case?
The verb stýra (to control or to steer) is one of the Icelandic verbs that requires its object to be in the dative case. Here, the masculine noun raki takes the definite article and becomes rakanum.
Why does the adjective viðkvæmu end in -u?
Because it is modifying a definite noun (plönturnar, meaning the plants). When an adjective goes with a definite noun, it takes the weak declension. In the plural, weak adjectives always end in -u across all genders and cases, which makes them quite easy to remember.
Can we drop að and just say svo viðkvæmu plönturnar deyi ekki?
Yes, in spoken or casual Icelandic, the að is very often dropped, leaving just svo. Even when að is dropped, the verb still stays in the subjunctive mood to show the purpose of the action.
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