Breakdown of Okkur þykir súri fiskurinn besti maturinn.
góður
good
maturinn
the food
fiskurinn
the fish
okkur
us
þykja
to find (have an opinion)
súr
sour
Questions & Answers about Okkur þykir súri fiskurinn besti maturinn.
Why does the sentence start with okkur instead of við?
This is because of the verb þykja (to find or consider). It is a quirky verb that requires its experiencer (the person having the opinion) to be in the dative case. Okkur is the dative form of við (we).
Since okkur means 'we', why isn't the verb in a plural form?
Because okkur is a dative subject, the verb doesn't conjugate to match it like a normal nominative subject. Instead, verbs with quirky subjects default to the 3rd person singular. That is why we use þykir here instead of a plural form.
Why are súri fiskurinn and besti maturinn in the nominative case? Shouldn't they be objects?
With þykja, the things you are expressing an opinion about take the nominative case, similar to how the verb vera (to be) links two nominative things together. You can think of the structure as meaning 'To us, the sour fish is considered the best food.'
Why do the adjectives end in -i (súri, besti) instead of -ur (súr, bestur)?
They are modifying definite nouns (fiskurinn and maturinn, which both have the attached article -inn). When an adjective comes before a definite noun, it must use the weak declension. For masculine nominative adjectives, the weak ending is -i.
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