Breakdown of Hin tignarlega kóróna er mjög falleg.
vera
to be
fallegur
beautiful
mjög
very
hinn
the (formal definite article)
tignarlegur
majestic
kórónan
the crown
Questions & Answers about Hin tignarlega kóróna er mjög falleg.
Why do we use Hin tignarlega kóróna instead of Tignarlega kórónan?
Both mean the same thing, but using the free-standing article Hin followed by a weak adjective and a bare noun is a formal, literary, or poetic style. In everyday spoken Icelandic, you would normally just say tignarlega kórónan.
Why doesn't kóróna have a definite article attached to the end of it here?
Because the word for "the" is already provided by Hin. When you use the formal free-standing article, the noun itself must remain bare. Saying hin tignarlega kórónan would be a grammar mistake, similar to saying "the majestic the crown" in English.
Why does the adjective tignarleg become tignarlega in this phrase?
Any adjective immediately following a definite article like Hin must be in its weak form. For a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, the weak adjective ending is -a.
If tignarlega is weak, why is the second adjective falleg in its strong form?
Falleg is a predicate adjective, describing the subject after the verb er (is). Because it doesn't directly follow the definite article Hin in a noun phrase, it uses the strong feminine singular nominative form, which is just the base word falleg.
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