Breakdown of Hann nýtur ofgnóttar í lífinu en ofneyslan er skaðleg.
vera
to be
hann
he
en
but
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
lífið
the life
njóta
to enjoy
skaðlegur
harmful
ofgnóttin
the superabundance
ofneyslan
the overconsumption
Questions & Answers about Hann nýtur ofgnóttar í lífinu en ofneyslan er skaðleg.
How does the prefix of- change the meaning of the word neyslan here?
The prefix of- means over, too much, or excessive. It attaches to the base noun neysla (consumption) to create ofneysla (overconsumption). Because neysla is a feminine noun, it takes the feminine definite article -n at the end here, becoming ofneyslan.
What is the base word of ofgnóttar, and does adding of- change its meaning significantly?
The base word is gnótt, which already means plenty or abundance. Adding of- creates ofgnótt, which intensifies the meaning to superabundance, excess, or glut. While it might feel slightly redundant, ofgnótt is a very common compound used to emphasize that there is almost too much of something.
Why is ofgnóttar in the genitive case here instead of the accusative?
The verb njóta (to enjoy) is one of the specific verbs in Icelandic that requires its object to take the genitive case. The nominative form of the noun is ofgnótt, and its genitive singular form is ofgnóttar. Remembering that njóta triggers the genitive will save you a lot of guesswork later!
Why does the sentence end with skaðleg instead of the dictionary form skaðlegur?
As a quick refresher, adjectives in Icelandic must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. The adjective skaðleg describes ofneyslan, which is a feminine, singular noun in the nominative case. Therefore, the masculine dictionary form skaðlegur drops its ending to become the feminine skaðleg.
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