Breakdown of Þrátt fyrir að hún var fátæk yfirsteig hún erfiðleikann.
vera
to be
hún
she
fátækur
poor
þrátt fyrir að
despite the fact that
yfirstíga
to overcome
erfiðleikinn
the difficulty
Questions & Answers about Þrátt fyrir að hún var fátæk yfirsteig hún erfiðleikann.
Why does the main clause start with the verb yfirsteig instead of the subject hún?
This is due to the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire concessive subordinate clause (Þrátt fyrir að hún var fátæk) counts as the first block of information in the sentence. Therefore, the main clause must immediately start with its verb (yfirsteig) to keep the verb in the second grammatical slot, pushing the subject (hún) to the position right after it.
Why is the verb var in the indicative mood here instead of the subjunctive?
The conjunction þrátt fyrir að (despite the fact that) takes the indicative mood when you are stating a concrete, established fact. Because it is a factual statement that she was poor, we use the indicative var. You would generally use the subjunctive for hypothetical situations (like 'even if she were poor'), which usually pair with different conjunctions like jafnvel þótt.
How do we figure out the conjugation for the verb yfirsteig?
This word is a compound of the prefix yfir- (over) and the strong verb stíga (to step or walk). To conjugate it, you just apply the standard past tense vowel change for stíga, which becomes steig in the third-person singular. Thus, yfirstíga (to overcome) becomes yfirsteig.
Why does the word for 'the difficulty' end in -ann here?
The base word is the weak masculine noun erfiðleiki (difficulty). Because it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb, it takes the accusative case, changing the ending from -i to -a (erfiðleika). To say 'the' difficulty, we add the accusative masculine definite article suffix -nn, giving us erfiðleikann.
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