Breakdown of Dýpkið skálina og breikkið formið!
og
and
skálin
the bowl
breikka
to widen
formið
the shape
dýpka
to deepen
Questions & Answers about Dýpkið skálina og breikkið formið!
How do we get the verb dýpka from the adjective for deep?
The Icelandic word for deep is djúpur. When adding the -ka suffix to turn it into an action verb, it triggers a vowel change called an i-shift. The jú changes to ý, turning the root djúp- into the verb dýpka.
The adjective for wide is breiður. Why does the verb breikka have a double k?
When the -ka suffix is added to adjectives ending in -ð, the ð disappears and the k doubles. That is why breið- plus -ka becomes breikka.
The verbs dýpka and breikka can mean both to get deeper/wider and to make deeper/wider. How do we know which meaning applies here?
We look at the rest of the sentence. Here, the verbs are followed by direct objects (skálina and formið). Because the action is being done to something else, these verbs are causative (meaning to make something deeper or wider). If the bowl itself were naturally getting deeper, there would be no direct object.
Why do both verbs end in -ið (dýpkið and breikkið)?
This is the plural imperative (command) form. The speaker is telling two or more people to do this task. For verbs ending in -a like dýpka and breikka, you drop the -a and add -ið to give a command to a group.
Why does skál become skálina while form just takes -ið?
Both words are in the accusative case because they are the direct objects being changed. However, skál is a feminine noun, so its definite accusative ending is -ina. Form is a neuter noun, and neuter words look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the nominative case, taking the -ið ending.
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