Breakdown of Viðskiptavinurinn sagði að framkvæmdastjórinn væri mjög upptekinn.
vera
to be
mjög
very
að
that (conjunction)
segja
to say
viðskiptavinurinn
the customer
upptekinn
busy
framkvæmdastjórinn
the managing director
Questions & Answers about Viðskiptavinurinn sagði að framkvæmdastjórinn væri mjög upptekinn.
Why do we use the past subjunctive væri here instead of the indicative var?
Because this is reported speech introduced by a past tense verb (sagði). When we report what someone said in the past, the verb in the að (that) clause backshifts into the past subjunctive. If the customer were speaking right now (segir), we would just use the present indicative er.
How do you break down the word viðskiptavinurinn?
It is a great compound word! It combines viðskipti (business or trade) and vinur (friend), plus the masculine definite article -inn (the). So a customer in Icelandic is literally a business friend.
Why is the adjective upptekinn in the nominative case? Doesn't the verb segja take an object?
The verb segja does take an object, but here the entire að clause acts as that object. Inside the clause itself, framkvæmdastjórinn is the subject and væri is a linking verb. Therefore, the adjective upptekinn describes the subject and stays in the nominative case (specifically masculine singular to match the director).
The word framkvæmdastjórinn is quite long. What are its root words?
It consists of framkvæmd (execution, carrying out) and stjóri (boss, director), topped off with the definite article -nn (the). You will see -stjóri at the end of many Icelandic job titles for managers or directors.
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