Breakdown of Gæðavaran er helmingi ódýrari á útsölunni.
vera
to be
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
ódýr
cheap
útsalan
the sale
gæðavaran
the quality product
helmingi
by half
Questions & Answers about Gæðavaran er helmingi ódýrari á útsölunni.
Why does the Icelandic sentence use the comparative ódýrari (cheaper) when the English translation says "as expensive"?
In Icelandic, multiplicative comparisons like "half as" or "twice as" are formed using the comparative form of the adjective. Instead of saying "half as expensive," Icelandic literally says "cheaper by a half" (helmingi ódýrari).
Why is the word for "half" in the dative case (helmingi) here?
It acts as a "dative of difference." When you compare two things, the amount by which they differ takes the dative case. Here, helmingi tells us the exact measure by which the product is cheaper.
How is the compound word gæðavaran formed?
Why do we use the preposition á with útsölunni?
Temporary commercial events and markets, like a sale (útsala), take the preposition á rather than í. It governs the dative case here because the product is statically "at" the sale, describing a state or location rather than movement.
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