Breakdown of Verkefnið var áhættusamt en uppgötvunin var engu að síður mikilvæg.
vera
to be
en
but
mikilvægur
important
verkefnið
the assignment
engu að síður
nevertheless
áhættusamur
risky
uppgötvunin
the discovery
Questions & Answers about Verkefnið var áhættusamt en uppgötvunin var engu að síður mikilvæg.
How exactly does engu að síður translate, and what is its literal breakdown?
It means "nevertheless" or "nonetheless". Literally, it breaks down as "by nothing the less". Engu is the dative form of the pronoun engi (none/nothing), which mirrors the English phrase "none the less" perfectly.
Why is engu að síður placed after the verb var here? Could it go at the beginning of the second clause?
Yes, it is flexible. You can place it after the verb, as in this sentence, which feels very natural. You could also put it right after the conjunction: ...en engu að síður var uppgötvunin mikilvæg. If you do move it to the front of that clause, remember the V2 (verb-second) rule: the verb var must come immediately after the connective, swapping places with the subject uppgötvunin.
Why do the adjectives áhættusamt and mikilvæg have different types of endings?
They are agreeing with the grammatical gender of the nouns they describe. Verkefnið (the project) is a neuter noun, so its adjective takes the neuter singular -t ending to become áhættusamt. Uppgötvunin (the discovery) is a feminine noun, so its adjective takes the feminine singular form, which has no added suffix here (mikilvæg).
How is the noun uppgötvunin built?
It stems from the verb að uppgötva (to discover). Adding the suffix -un turns verbs into feminine nouns, creating uppgötvun (a discovery). The -in attached at the very end is the feminine definite article, making it uppgötvunin (the discovery).
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