Breakdown of Endurskinið á yfirborðinu sýnir öfuga mynd.
myndin
the picture
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
sýna
to show
endurskinið
the reflection (of light)
yfirborðið
the surface (outer or top layer)
öfugur
reversed
Questions & Answers about Endurskinið á yfirborðinu sýnir öfuga mynd.
How would we apply this lesson's topic to say "The reflection seems to show a reversed picture"?
You would use the middle-voice verb virðist (seems) and change the main verb to the infinitive að sýna. The sentence becomes Endurskinið á yfirborðinu virðist sýna öfuga mynd. This is called subject raising because the subject (Endurskinið) stays in the nominative case and acts as the subject for virðist, rather than being tucked away in a subordinate clause like "Það virðist sem endurskinið sýni...".
Why is yfirborðinu in the dative case here?
The preposition á governs the dative case when it indicates a stationary location or state (where something is), as it does here with "on the surface". If the sentence described motion onto the surface (where something is going), á would take the accusative.
öfuga agrees with the feminine accusative noun mynd. Is the adjective öfugur only used for literal visual reversals?
Not at all! While it means "reversed" or "upside down" here (literally a "backward picture"), öfugur is also commonly used to mean "wrong", "backwards", or "the opposite of what it should be" in abstract contexts. For example, if someone does a task completely the wrong way around, you might say they did it öfugt.
Can I use the prefix endur- from endurskinið to make other "re-" words?
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