Breakdown of Margs konar flokkun er mjög kerfisbundin.
vera
to be
mjög
very
margur
many
konar
kind (used in genitive expressions)
flokkunin
the categorization
kerfisbundinn
systematic
Questions & Answers about Margs konar flokkun er mjög kerfisbundin.
How exactly does margs konar break down grammatically?
Since margs konar translates to 'many kinds', why is the verb singular (er) instead of plural (eru)?
In Icelandic, the grammatical subject of this sentence is flokkun (categorization), which is singular. The phrase margs konar acts as a fixed modifier that does not change the number of the noun it describes. While English makes 'kinds' the plural subject, Icelandic keeps the focus on the singular noun.
Is it acceptable to write margskonar as a single word?
According to official Icelandic spelling rules, phrases using konar should always be written as two separate words (like margs konar, alls konar, or hvers konar). However, you will very frequently see native speakers write them as a single word in everyday, informal texts.
How is the adjective kerfisbundin constructed?
It is a compound word made from kerfi (system) and bundinn (bound or tied). Kerfi takes a genitive -s to link the two words together. Finally, bundinn is inflected to bundin to agree with the feminine, singular, nominative subject flokkun.
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