Breakdown of Ofvirki hundurinn er of ungur til að vera hlýðinn og hættir aldrei að gelta.
vera
to be
hundurinn
the dog
og
and
ungur
young
að
to (infinitive marker)
hætta
to stop
aldrei
never
til
to
of
too
gelta
to bark
ofvirkur
hyperactive
hlýðinn
obedient
Questions & Answers about Ofvirki hundurinn er of ungur til að vera hlýðinn og hættir aldrei að gelta.
The lesson mentions 'til þess að', but this sentence only uses 'til að'. Was 'þess' dropped?
Yes! In this 'too [adjective] to [verb]' structure, you can use either til þess að or just til að. Dropping þess is extremely common in both spoken and written Icelandic, and the meaning stays exactly the same.
Why does the first adjective end in '-i' (ofvirki) but the second one ends in '-ur' (ungur)?
This is a classic example of weak vs. strong adjectives. Ofvirki is paired directly with a definite noun (hundurinn), so it uses the weak ending. Ungur stands alone after the verb er without a definite article next to it, so it takes the strong ending.
Why is hlýðinn in the masculine nominative form if it comes right after the infinitive verb vera?
Even though it follows vera (to be), the adjective hlýðinn (obedient) is still describing the subject of the sentence, hundurinn (the dog). Since the dog is a masculine noun in the nominative case, the adjective has to match it.
Does the prefix of- in ofvirki mean the same thing as the separate word of?
Exactly! The standalone word of means 'too' or 'excessively' (like in of ungur). When used as a prefix, it adds that same meaning of 'over' or 'hyper' to the word, making ofvirki mean 'over-active' or 'hyperactive'.
Why is there an að before gelta?
The verb hætta (to stop or quit) requires að plus the infinitive when you are talking about stopping an action. Unlike English where we say 'stops barking', Icelandic literally says 'stops to bark' (hættir að gelta).
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