Breakdown of Þess vegna er hann atvinnulaus og peningalaus núna.
vera
to be
og
and
hann
he
núna
now
þess vegna
therefore, that is why
atvinnulaus
unemployed
peningalaus
penniless
Questions & Answers about Þess vegna er hann atvinnulaus og peningalaus núna.
How exactly are the words atvinnulaus and peningalaus built in this sentence?
They are created by attaching the suffix -laus (meaning "without" or "-less") to the genitive (possessive) stem of a noun. The genitive of atvinna (employment) is atvinnu, and the plural genitive of peningur (money) is peninga. When combined with the suffix, we get atvinnulaus (unemployed) and peningalaus (penniless).
Do adjectives ending in -laus change to match the subject?
Yes! Because -laus creates an adjective, it still has to agree with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case. In this sentence, the subject hann (he) is masculine singular, so we use the standard form. If the subject were plural, like þeir (they, masculine), these words would change to atvinnulausir and peningalausir.
Why is the verb er placed before the subject hann here?
This is a classic example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the phrase Þess vegna (that's why) takes up the first block of information in the sentence, the verb er must come immediately after it. This pushes the subject hann into the third position.
Why does the phrase Þess vegna mean "that's why"?
Vegna is a preposition meaning "because of," and it forces the word it applies to into the genitive case. Þess is the genitive form of the pronoun það (it/that). So, Þess vegna literally translates to "because of that."
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