Breakdown of Sagan segir að skógurinn sé óhugnanlegur á nóttunni.
vera
to be
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
skógurinn
the forest
sagan
the story
að
that (conjunction)
segja
to say
nóttin
the night
óhugnanlegur
creepy
Questions & Answers about Sagan segir að skógurinn sé óhugnanlegur á nóttunni.
Why do we use sé instead of er in this sentence?
sé is the present subjunctive form of vera (to be). In Icelandic, when you report what someone or a story said using a phrase like Sagan segir að, you use the subjunctive to show that this is hearsay or a reported claim, not necessarily an absolute fact.
Does the adjective óhugnanlegur change because of the subjunctive verb?
No, the adjective form is not affected by the subjunctive. óhugnanlegur is in the masculine, singular, nominative form because it describes the subject of that clause, skógurinn (the forest), which is a masculine noun.
Why is nóttunni in the dative case after á?
When the preposition á is used to express a point in time or a recurring time period like 'at night', it takes the dative case. nóttunni is the dative, singular, definite form of nótt.
Can Sagan segir be used like 'rumor has it' in English?
Yes! While it literally translates to 'the story says', it is a very common phrase used just like 'rumor has it' or 'legend has it'. This strong element of rumor is exactly why it pairs so well with the subjunctive in the second half of the sentence.
Learn Sagan segir að skógurinn sé óhugnanlegur á nóttunni and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free