Breakdown of Börkur trésins virðist vera sterkari en sá plöntunnar.
vera
to be
tréð
the tree
sterkur
strong / spicy, hot (of food)
en
than
sá
that (sá, sú, það; þann)
plantan
the plant
virðast
to seem (general impression)
börkurinn
the bark
Questions & Answers about Börkur trésins virðist vera sterkari en sá plöntunnar.
Why do we use sá here in sá plöntunnar?
Sá translates to that or the one. It is a demonstrative pronoun used here to avoid repeating the word börkur (bark). Because börkur is a masculine noun in the nominative case, acting as the subject of the sentence, we must use the masculine nominative form sá. If the noun we were replacing was feminine, we would use sú, and if neuter, það.
Could we just say börkur af trénu instead of börkur trésins?
While English uses a preposition like of the for the bark of the tree, Icelandic strongly prefers using the genitive case directly on the noun to show this kind of inherent relationship. Trésins is the genitive singular of the neuter noun tré with the attached definite article. Using af plus dative here would sound unnatural to native speakers.
Why does the verb virðist end in -st?
This is the middle voice form of the verb virða, which normally means to respect or to evaluate. By adding the middle voice -st ending, it takes on a completely new meaning: to seem or to appear. Verbs like virðist often trigger an infinitive phrase right after them, which is why we see vera sterkari immediately following it.
Does the comparative adjective sterkari change to match the masculine gender of börkur?
No, it does not need a special masculine ending here. When an adjective is in the comparative degree, typically ending in -ari, it is invariable across masculine, feminine, and neuter genders in the nominative case. So it remains sterkari regardless of the subject's gender.
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