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Ég ábyrgist að við finnum sérhvern gallaðan bíl.

Ég ábyrgist að við finnum sérhvern gallaðan bíl.
I guarantee that we find every single defective car.
From Lesson 329:Distributive pronoun in the nominative and accusative (sérhver)·Icelandic

Questions & Answers about Ég ábyrgist að við finnum sérhvern gallaðan bíl.

Why is sérhver in the form sérhvern here?
Sérhver declines to match the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. Here, it modifies bíl (car), which is a masculine noun acting as the direct object (accusative case) of the verb finna (to find). Therefore, it takes the masculine accusative singular form, sérhvern.
What is the exact difference between sérhvern bíl and just hvern bíl?
While hvern bíl means "each car" or "every car", adding the prefix sér- emphasizes the individuality of each item. Sérhver translates best to "every single" or "each and every", which adds a much stronger emphasis to the speaker's guarantee.
Does sérhver take a strong or weak adjective after it?
It takes the strong declension. Even though sérhver might feel specific, it does not act like a definite article (which would require a weak adjective). Because bíl is masculine accusative, the strong adjective gallaður (defective) becomes gallaðan to match sérhvern.
Why does the verb ábyrgist end in -st?
It is the first-person singular form of the middle voice verb ábyrgjast (to guarantee or take responsibility for). Middle voice verbs in Icelandic always end in -st and often have meanings related to expressing a firm stance, a promise, or taking on a liability.
The English translation says "we find," but it implies a future promise. Why is the present tense finnum used instead of a future helper verb?
Icelandic frequently uses the simple present tense to express the future, especially for confident statements and guarantees. Using a helper verb like munum (will) is unnecessary here because the main verb ábyrgjast already sets the expectation of a promised outcome.

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