Breakdown of Hún byrjaði að skrifa um óréttlætið þrátt fyrir að hún var veik.
vera
to be
hún
she
veikur
sick
að
to (infinitive marker)
skrifa
to write
byrja
to start
um
about
þrátt fyrir að
despite the fact that
óréttlætið
the injustice
Questions & Answers about Hún byrjaði að skrifa um óréttlætið þrátt fyrir að hún var veik.
Why does þrátt fyrir að take the indicative verb var here instead of the subjunctive?
You might remember that similar phrases like þó að (even though) usually require the subjunctive mood (which would be væri here). However, þrátt fyrir að takes the standard indicative mood when it states an established fact. Since it is a fact that she was sick, we just use var.
Why do we need the word að in þrátt fyrir að? Couldn't we just use þrátt fyrir?
Þrátt fyrir by itself is a preposition meaning 'despite', and it must be followed by a noun or pronoun (for example, þrátt fyrir veikindin meaning 'despite the illness'). Because we are following it with a full clause containing a subject and a verb (hún var veik), we have to add að to act as a bridge, giving it the meaning 'despite the fact that'.
Why is óréttlætið in the accusative case?
It is governed by the preposition um (about), which always takes the accusative case. The base noun is the neuter word óréttlæti (injustice), and the -ð at the end is the attached definite article ('the').
How is the word óréttlætið constructed?
It is built from the root adjective réttur (right or correct). The suffix -læti is added to form the abstract noun réttlæti (justice). Then, the negative prefix ó- (un- or in-) is added to the beginning, creating óréttlæti (injustice).
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