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Enginn hagar sér eins og hann sé brjálaður.

Enginn hagar sér eins og hann sé brjálaður.
Nobody behaves as if they're crazy.
From Lesson 251:Manner and similarity (eins og)·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Enginn hagar sér eins og hann sé brjálaður.

Why do we use the subjunctive sé here instead of the regular er?
When eins og means "as if" and describes a hypothetical or unreal situation, it triggers the subjunctive mood. Since the person isn't actually crazy, we use sé (the present subjunctive of vera) instead of the indicative er.
The English translation uses "they", so why does the Icelandic sentence use hann (he)?
The Icelandic word for "nobody", enginn, is grammatically masculine and singular. Because of this, any pronouns referring back to it must also be masculine and singular (hann). English often uses "they" for an unspecified person, but Icelandic strictly follows the grammatical gender of the word.
What is the role of sér in hagar sér?
It belongs to the reflexive verb að haga sér, which means "to behave". Sér is the third-person reflexive pronoun matching the subject enginn. It works a bit like saying "Nobody conducts themselves".
Why does the adjective brjálaður end in -ur?
Adjectives must agree with the noun or pronoun they describe. Because brjálaður (crazy) describes hann, which is masculine and singular, the adjective takes the masculine singular nominative ending -ur.

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