Breakdown of Er ryksugan jafn hljóðlát og þvottavélin?
vera
to be
og
and
þvottavélin
the washing machine
jafn
as, equally (jafn ... og)
ryksugan
the vacuum cleaner
hljóðlátur
quiet
Questions & Answers about Er ryksugan jafn hljóðlát og þvottavélin?
How does the "as ... as" comparison work here, and should jafn agree with the noun?
The structure is jafn + adjective + og. Here, jafn hljóðlát og translates to "as quiet as". Even though adjectives usually change to match the noun in Icelandic, jafn acts as an adverb in this specific structure. Because of this, it stays in its base form and does not change to match the feminine noun.
Why is the adjective hljóðlát instead of its dictionary form hljóðlátur?
Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Because the subject of the sentence, ryksugan, is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case, the adjective drops the masculine -ur ending to become hljóðlát.
Both ryksugan and þvottavélin are feminine nouns with "the" attached. Why do their endings look different?
It comes down to whether the base noun is weak or strong. Ryksuga is a weak feminine noun because it ends in a vowel, so it just takes the article -n to become ryksugan. Þvottavél is a strong feminine noun ending in a consonant, so it takes the article -in to become þvottavélin.
How are the compound words ryksuga and þvottavél built?
Like many modern tools in Icelandic, their names describe exactly what they do! Ryksuga literally means "dust sucker", combining ryk (dust) and suga (sucker or pump). Þvottavél combines þvottur (laundry or washing) and vél (machine).
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