Breakdown of Við munum kaupa ryksuguna ef hún er jafn hljóðlát og þessi.
vera
to be
og
and
hún
she
við
we
kaupa
to buy
þessi
this (m/f)
ef
if
jafn
as, equally (jafn ... og)
munu
will
ryksugan
the vacuum cleaner
hljóðlátur
quiet
Questions & Answers about Við munum kaupa ryksuguna ef hún er jafn hljóðlát og þessi.
How does the "as quiet as" structure work in this sentence?
To say "as [adjective] as" in Icelandic, we use jafn (which means equally) plus the adjective, followed by og (which normally means and, but here means as). Notice that the adjective hljóðlát is in the feminine form to match hún (the vacuum cleaner), but the word jafn does not change.
Why does the sentence use hún (she) to refer to a vacuum cleaner?
All Icelandic nouns have a grammatical gender. The word for vacuum cleaner, ryksuga, is a feminine noun. Because of this, you must use the feminine pronoun hún when referring back to it, even though we just say "it" in English.
Why do we use þessi at the end instead of the default þetta?
The word þessi (this) is acting as a pronoun meaning "this one", referring to another vacuum cleaner. It must match the feminine gender of the noun it replaces (ryksuga). If you used the neuter þetta, it would mean "this" in a vague, general sense, rather than specifically "this vacuum cleaner."
Why is the vacuum cleaner written as ryksuguna here?
The base word is ryksuga, which is a fun compound word literally meaning "dust sucker." Here it has the feminine definite article attached (-na) because it means "the vacuum cleaner." It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object being bought.
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