Breakdown of Það er erfitt að túlka fornu frásögnina.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
forn
ancient
erfiður
difficult
túlka
to interpret
frásögnin
the narrative
Questions & Answers about Það er erfitt að túlka fornu frásögnina.
Why is erfitt in the neuter form here?
The adjective erfitt (difficult) describes the entire infinitive phrase að tólka fornu frásögnina (to interpret the ancient narrative). When an adjective describes an action or a full phrase rather than a specific noun, it always takes the neuter singular form.
Why do we use the weak adjective form fornu here?
Because it comes right before a noun with a suffixed definite article (frásögnina). In Icelandic, a definite noun forces the preceding adjective into the weak declension. Since the noun is feminine accusative singular, the weak adjective takes the -u ending.
What case is frásögnina in, and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb tólka (to interpret). The base noun frásögn is feminine. Its accusative form is identical to the nominative, but adding the accusative feminine definite article gives us frásögnina.
How could we rearrange this sentence to emphasize 'the ancient narrative'?
You could bring the object to the front of the sentence: Fornu frásögnina er erfitt að tólka. This type of topicalization is a very common structure in Icelandic to shift the focus onto the thing being acted upon, moving it ahead of the dummy subject það (which then drops out).
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