Breakdown of Ef þurrkarinn er jafn hávær og ryksugan, átt þú að skila honum.
vera
to be
og
and
þú
you
hann
he
skila
to hand in
eiga að
to be supposed to
ef
if
hávær
loud
jafn
as, equally (as in "as tall as")
ryksugan
the vacuum cleaner
þurrkarinn
the dryer
Questions & Answers about Ef þurrkarinn er jafn hávær og ryksugan, átt þú að skila honum.
How does the 'as ... as' comparison work in jafn hávær og? Does jafn change form?
The word jafn acts as an adverb here meaning 'equally', so it stays exactly the same. However, the adjective it modifies (hávær) must agree with the subject. Since þurrkarinn (the dryer) is a masculine noun, hávær takes the masculine nominative singular form. You then use og (which normally means 'and', but here means 'as') right before the noun you are comparing it to.
Why is the verb átt placed before the subject þú in the second half of the sentence?
This is a classic example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire 'if' clause (Ef þurrkarinn...) takes up the first slot in the sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, átt must come immediately after the comma, swapping places with the subject þú.
Why does the sentence end with the dative pronoun honum (him) when we are talking about an object?
What does átt þú að mean here?
It comes from the verb phrase eiga að, which means 'to be supposed to' or 'to have to'. Here, conjugated as átt þú að, it expresses a strong recommendation or obligation to return the dryer.
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