Breakdown of Skorturinn er kostnaðarsamur og af þeim sökum er stjórinn reiður.
vera
to be
og
and
reiður
angry
stjórinn
the boss
af þeim sökum
for those reasons
kostnaðarsamur
costly
skorturinn
the shortage
Questions & Answers about Skorturinn er kostnaðarsamur og af þeim sökum er stjórinn reiður.
Let's look closely at af þeim sökum. Why are these words in the dative plural?
The preposition af always triggers the dative case. Þeim is the dative plural of the demonstrative pronoun (meaning "those"), and sökum is the dative plural of the feminine noun sök, which means "cause", "reason", or "blame". Literally, the phrase translates to "from those reasons".
The English translation says "for this reason" (singular). Why does the Icelandic sentence use the plural þeim sökum?
While English speakers usually refer back to a single previous statement as "this reason", Icelandic idiomatically uses the plural phrase af þeim sökum ("for those reasons") as a fixed connective. You will use it even when referring back to a single fact, like the shortage being costly.
Why does the second part of the sentence say ...er stjórinn reiður instead of ...stjórinn er reiður?
This is a great example of the strict V2 (verb-second) rule. The conjunction og connects two main clauses. In the second clause, the connective phrase af þeim sökum occupies the first position. To ensure the verb stays in the second position, er must come immediately next, pushing the subject stjórinn into the third position.
How is the adjective kostnaðarsamur (costly) formed?
Learn Skorturinn er kostnaðarsamur og af þeim sökum er stjórinn reiður and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free