Breakdown of Þessi hrærivél er jafn aflmikil og gamla hrærivélin.
vera
to be
og
and
gamall
old
þessi
this (m/f)
jafn
as, equally (jafn ... og)
hrærivélin
the mixer
aflmikill
powerful
Questions & Answers about Þessi hrærivél er jafn aflmikil og gamla hrærivélin.
How do we form the "as powerful as" comparison in this sentence?
To say "as [adjective] as", Icelandic uses jafn + [adjective] + og. In this sentence, jafn acts like the first "as" (meaning "equally"), and og acts as the second "as".
Does the adjective aflmikil have to agree with the noun even when used with jafn?
Yes! Even though it comes after the adverb jafn, the adjective aflmikil must still agree with the noun it describes. Since hrærivél (mixer) is a feminine noun, we use the feminine singular form aflmikil instead of the masculine aflmikill. The word jafn itself does not change.
Why do we use the adjective form gamla instead of gömul here?
Because the noun it describes is definite, meaning it has the "the" article attached at the end (hrærivélin). When a noun is definite, the adjective before it must use its weak form. The weak feminine form of "old" is gamla.
What smaller words make up the adjective aflmikil?
It is a compound of the noun afl (power or strength) and the adjective mikil (much or great). Icelandic often creates descriptive words this way, making aflmikil literally mean "power-great" or "having much power".
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