Breakdown of Þeim þykir fiskurinn hrár en bragðgóður.
en
but
fiskurinn
the fish
þeim
them (dative)
þykja
to find (have an opinion)
bragðgóður
tasty
hrár
raw
Questions & Answers about Þeim þykir fiskurinn hrár en bragðgóður.
Why does the sentence start with Þeim instead of a regular nominative pronoun like Þeir or Þau?
This is the core of how the verb þykja (to find / to be of the opinion) works. It requires a quirky subject in the dative case. Instead of saying 'They find...', Icelandic phrases this more like 'To them, the fish seems...'. Therefore, we use the dative pronoun Þeim.
If Þeim is plural ('they'), why is the verb þykir in the singular form?
Because Þeim is in the dative case, it doesn't control the verb ending. Instead, the verb þykja agrees with the nominative noun in the sentence. Here, that's fiskurinn (the fish), which is singular. If they were evaluating multiple fish (fiskarnir), the verb would change to the plural form (þykja).
Why are the adjectives hrár and bragðgóður in the nominative case instead of an object case like the accusative?
With the verb þykja, the thing being evaluated (fiskurinn) is actually the grammatical subject, so it takes the nominative case. Any adjectives describing it (hrár and bragðgóður) must also be in the nominative case to match it, specifically taking the masculine singular form here.
Doesn't en often mean 'and'? How do I know it means 'but' in this sentence?
The word en is very flexible. It can mean 'and' when adding related information, but it is also the most common word for 'but' when contrasting two things. Because being 'raw' and 'tasty' are contrasting ideas in this context, en translates naturally to 'but'.
How is the word bragðgóður constructed?
It is a compound word made from the noun bragð (taste or flavor) and the adjective góður (good). Put together, it literally means 'good-tasting'.
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