Breakdown of Innkaupin eru hvatvís út af útsölunni.
vera
to be
út af
because of (+ dative)
innkaupið
the purchase
hvatvís
impulsive
útsalan
the sale
Questions & Answers about Innkaupin eru hvatvís út af útsölunni.
Why does the adjective hvatvís look like it's in the singular form when describing the plural noun innkaupin?
Innkaup is a neuter plural noun, so the adjective must also be in the neuter plural. For many adjectives ending in -s (like hvatvís), the neuter plural form happens to be identical to the dictionary form. For comparison, the neuter singular would be hvatvíst, but the neuter plural drops the -t and goes back to hvatvís.
Is innkaup always used as a plural noun?
Yes, when it means "shopping" or "purchases" collectively, innkaup is almost always a neuter plural noun in Icelandic. This is why it takes the neuter plural definite article -in (innkaupin) and the plural verb eru.
What governs the case of útsölunni in this sentence?
The phrase út af (because of) acts as a preposition that always takes the dative case. Since útsala is a weak feminine noun, its dative form is útsölu, which becomes útsölunni once you attach the feminine dative definite article (-nni).
If I wanted to use vegna instead of út af for "because of", how would the sentence change?
If you swap in vegna, you have to change the noun to the genitive case, because vegna requires the genitive. The sentence would then become: Innkaupin eru hvatvís vegna útsölunnar. Út af is slightly more conversational, while vegna sounds a bit more formal.
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