Breakdown of Var hjálparstarfið árangursríkt í fyrra?
vera
to be
í fyrra
last year
hjálparstarfið
the relief work
árangursríkur
effective
Questions & Answers about Var hjálparstarfið árangursríkt í fyrra?
Both hjálparstarfið and árangursríkt are formed using the genitive case. How does that work here?
In Icelandic, compound words often use the genitive case to link the parts. Hjálpar is the genitive of hjálp (help), combining with starfið (the work) to make hjálparstarfið. Similarly, árangurs is the genitive of árangur (result or success), joining with the adjective ríkur (rich) to mean effective, or literally rich in results.
Why is the adjective árangursríkt in the neuter form here?
It is agreeing with the subject of the sentence, hjálparstarfið. Because the root noun starf (work) is a neuter noun, the adjective árangursríkur takes the neuter nominative ending -t.
Why is 'last year' translated as í fyrra instead of using the normal word for year (ár)?
Í fyrra is a very common fixed phrase specifically used for last year. The word fyrra comes from fyrri meaning former or previous. While you can technically say á síðasta ári, native speakers overwhelmingly prefer í fyrra. Note that for last week you say í síðustu viku, and last month is í síðasta mánuði; only the year gets this special idiom!
If I wanted to apply the current lesson's grammar and ask 'Was EACH relief effort effective?', how would I use sérhver in this sentence?
You would drop the definite article -ið from hjálparstarfið and add the neuter nominative form of sérhver. The sentence becomes: Var sérhvert hjálparstarf árangursríkt í fyrra? For context on your current dative/genitive lesson, if this phrase were instead the object of a verb or preposition requiring the dative, it would change to sérhverju hjálparstarfi, and in the genitive it would be sérhvers hjálparstarfs.
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