Learn Icelandic: Ef þurrkarinn er jafn hávær og ryksugan, átt þú að skila honum. - If the dryer is as loud as the vacuum cleaner, you have to return it.

Ef þurrkarinn er jafn hávær og ryksugan, átt þú að skila honum.

If the dryer is as loud as the vacuum cleaner, you have to return it.

Breakdown of Ef þurrkarinn er jafn hávær og ryksugan, átt þú að skila honum.

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?

In Icelandic, pronouns match the gender of the noun they replace. Since þurrkarinn (the dryer) is a masculine noun, we use a masculine pronoun for 'it'. It takes the dative form honum because the verb skila (to return) always requires its object to be in the dative case.

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.