Breakdown of Kvöldmaturinn misheppnaðist alveg.
kvöldmaturinn
the dinner
alveg
completely, totally
misheppnast
to go wrong
Questions & Answers about Kvöldmaturinn misheppnaðist alveg.
How does the prefix mis- change the meaning of the verb here?
The base verb is að heppnast, which means to succeed or to turn out well. Adding the prefix mis- creates a direct opposite, meaning to fail or to turn out badly. This prefix is very productive in Icelandic for showing that an action was done incorrectly or yielded a bad result, similar to the prefix in the English word misunderstand.
Why does misheppnaðist end with an -st?
Both heppnast and misheppnast are middle voice verbs, indicated by that -st ending. Unlike some verbs where the -st makes them passive or reciprocal, these are deponent verbs, meaning they only exist in this middle voice form and cannot be conjugated without the -st suffix.
Can I use misheppnast if I want to say that I made a mistake?
Not quite. Misheppnast focuses on the outcome of an event or process failing or going wrong, like a dinner, a plan, or a cake. If you want to say that a person actively made an error, you would typically use the phrase að gera mistök (to make mistakes) instead.
Why does the adverb alveg come after the verb instead of before it?
Icelandic strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule in main clauses. The conjugated verb misheppnaðist must be the second grammatical element in the sentence, right after the subject Kvöldmaturinn. Therefore, the adverb alveg has to come after the verb, unlike in English where completely often precedes it.
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