Breakdown of Halakartan verður hratt að froski.
verða
to become; will be
hratt
fast
að
to, towards
halakartan
the tadpole
froskurinn
the frog
Questions & Answers about Halakartan verður hratt að froski.
Why is froski in the dative case here?
In the phrase verða að (to turn into / become), the preposition að always forces the following noun into the dative case. Here, the masculine noun froskur (frog) drops its nominative -ur ending and takes the dative -i ending to become froski.
What is the literal breakdown of the word halakartan?
The word for tadpole, halakarta, is a compound of hali (tail) and karta (toad). The -n at the end is the attached feminine definite article, making it the tail-toad.
Does verður mean 'is turning' or 'will turn' in this sentence?
It can be both. Icelandic uses the same verb form for present and future actions. Depending on context, this sentence can mean the tadpole is currently turning into a frog, generally turns into a frog, or will turn into a frog.
Why is the adverb hratt placed between the verb and the preposition?
In Icelandic, short adverbs of manner like hratt (quickly) usually sit directly after the verb. While you could put it at the very end of the sentence, placing it before the að froski prepositional phrase sounds much more natural to native speakers.
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