Breakdown of Verkefnastjórinn reyndi að bæta skilvirknina.
að
to (infinitive marker)
reyna
to try (attempt)
bæta
to improve
verkefnastjórinn
the project manager
skilvirknin
the efficiency
Questions & Answers about Verkefnastjórinn reyndi að bæta skilvirknina.
Since this lesson focuses on the causative 'fá ... til að' construction, how would we change this sentence to say 'The project manager got them to improve the efficiency'?
You would replace reyndi að (tried to) with the verb fá (to get) in the past tense, followed by the accusative object þá (them), and then til að before the infinitive. The resulting sentence is: Verkefnastjórinn fékk þá til að bæta skilvirknina.
Why does the word for efficiency end in '-na' in this sentence?
The base noun is skilvirkni, which is a feminine noun. Feminine nouns ending in -i generally do not change their root form across the four singular cases. However, the attached definite article still declines. Because the verb bæta requires an accusative direct object, we attach the feminine accusative definite article -na to the base word, giving us skilvirknina.
How is the compound noun verkefnastjórinn constructed?
It consists of three components. The first is verkefna, which is the genitive plural of verkefni (project), meaning 'of projects'. The second is stjóri (manager). The final part is -nn, the masculine singular definite article for the nominative case. Literally, it means 'the manager of projects'.
Does the verb reyna have any influence on the grammatical case of skilvirknina?
No, it does not. In a verb chain like reyndi að bæta (tried to improve), the case of the noun is governed entirely by the verb that directly acts upon it. The noun skilvirknina is in the accusative case strictly because it is the direct object of bæta (to improve).
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