Breakdown of Hvernig getum við fengið teymið til að forgangsraða?
við
we
hvernig
how
að
to (infinitive marker)
fá
to get
til
to
geta
to be able to
teymið
the team
forgangsraða
to prioritize
Questions & Answers about Hvernig getum við fengið teymið til að forgangsraða?
How does the causative construction work in this sentence to mean 'get the team to'?
The structure is fá + [Accusative object] + til að + [Infinitive verb]. In this sentence, the object being persuaded is teymið (the team), and the action we want them to do is til að forgangsraða (to prioritize).
Why is the verb fá written in the form fengið?
It comes after getum (can). The verb geta is unique among Icelandic auxiliary verbs because it forces the following verb into the supine form (the neuter past participle) rather than the infinitive. Because of this, we must use fengið instead of fá.
Since fá requires the accusative case here, why doesn't teymið change its ending?
Teymi is a neuter noun. In Icelandic, all neuter nouns have the exact same form in both the nominative and accusative cases. The -ð at the end is simply the attached definite article, making it 'the team'.
How is the vocabulary word forgangsraða constructed?
It is a compound verb made from the noun forgangur (priority) and the verb raða (to arrange, order, or sort). Put together, it literally means 'to priority-arrange', which translates perfectly to 'prioritize'.
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