Breakdown of Í öðru lagi er veðrið of slæmt.
vera
to be
veðrið
the weather
slæmur
bad
of
too
í öðru lagi
secondly
Questions & Answers about Í öðru lagi er veðrið of slæmt.
What does lagi literally mean in the phrase Í öðru lagi?
The noun lag has many meanings, including "layer", "shape", or "song", but in this fixed phrase it means "place" or "manner". So í öðru lagi literally means "in the second place". You can also say "firstly" with í fyrsta lagi.
Why does the verb er come before the subject veðrið?
This happens because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. In Icelandic, the main verb usually has to be the second element in a clause. Since the phrase Í öðru lagi takes up the first spot, the verb er comes second, pushing the subject veðrið into the third spot.
Why is the word for "second" spelled öðru instead of annar?
The preposition í dictates the case here, which is the dative case. Because the noun lag is neuter, the adjective annar (which can mean "second" or "other") must take its neuter dative form, which is öðru.
Why does the adjective slæmt end with a "-t"?
Adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they describe. Because veðrið comes from the neuter noun veður (weather), the adjective slæmur (bad) drops its masculine "-ur" ending and takes the neuter "-t" ending to become slæmt.
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