Word
Sagan sem rituð var af bróður hans er sönn.
Meaning
The story which was written by his brother is true.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sagan sem rituð var af bróður hans er sönn.
vera
to be
bróðirinn
the brother
hans
his
sagan
the story
Questions & Answers about Sagan sem rituð var af bróður hans er sönn.
Why is the word order sem rituð var instead of the usual sem var rituð?
This is a classic example of stylistic fronting. In relative clauses starting with sem where there is no separate subject (because sem acts as the subject), Icelandic often pulls the past participle (rituð) in front of the finite verb (var). It sounds very natural and slightly more elevated than sem var rituð.
Why does the participle take the form rituð here?
In Icelandic passive constructions, the past participle acts like an adjective and must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case. Since the subject it refers back to is Sagan (a feminine, singular, nominative noun), the past participle of the verb rita becomes rituð.
Could I use skrifuð instead of rituð?
Yes, sem skrifuð var is perfectly fine and means the exact same thing. Rita is just a slightly more formal or literary word for 'to write' than skrifa, which fits nicely when talking about a saga (a story, history, or tale).
Why is the word for brother bróður instead of bróðir?