Breakdown of Þú verður að róa strákinn, hann róast ekki.
þú
you
hann
he
strákurinn
the boy
ekki
not
að
to (infinitive marker)
verða
to become; will be
róa
to calm somebody
róast
to calm down
Questions & Answers about Þú verður að róa strákinn, hann róast ekki.
How do róa and róast demonstrate the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs here?
Róa is transitive, meaning it needs a direct object to receive the action: you have to calm someone (the boy). By adding the -st ending, Icelandic forms the middle-voice verb róast. This makes it intransitive, meaning the action happens to the subject itself without an external object: he calms himself down.
What case does róa force its object into, and how do we see that on the word strákinn?
The verb róa takes an object in the accusative case. The base word is the masculine noun strákur (boy) with the definite article -inn attached in the nominative, making strákurinn. In the accusative, the -ur ending drops from the root, leaving strákinn.
Why do we use verður að instead of just verður?
By itself, the verb verða usually means "to become" or "will be". However, the fixed phrase verða að followed by an infinitive verb creates a strong obligation, meaning "must" or "to have to". Therefore, Þú verður að róa translates to "You must calm".
Why does the second part of the sentence say hann róast ekki instead of just róast ekki?
Unlike languages like Spanish, Icelandic generally requires you to state the subject pronoun. Since the second half of the sentence is a new independent clause after the comma, it needs its own subject. We use the masculine pronoun hann (he) to refer back to the masculine noun strákurinn.
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