Breakdown of Harðleikinn er mikilvægur, en sterkleikinn skiptir líka máli.
vera
to be
en
but
mikilvægur
important
líka
also
málið
the matter, the case
skipta
to matter (skipta máli)
harðleikinn
the hardness
sterkleikinn
the strength
Questions & Answers about Harðleikinn er mikilvægur, en sterkleikinn skiptir líka máli.
The nouns harðleikinn and sterkleikinn use the -leiki suffix. How can we tell they aren't using the -leikur suffix here?
You can tell by looking at the definite article attached to the end. Harðleiki is a weak masculine noun, so it takes the article -nn to become harðleikinn. If the sentence used the strong masculine suffix -leikur, the definite form would be harðleikurinn.
Are harðleiki and sterkleiki the standard, most common words for hardness and strength?
Not always! Icelandic often has older, shorter abstract nouns like harka (hardness) and styrkur (strength). The -leiki forms are frequently used to describe specific, measurable properties or technical attributes (like in material science), whereas the shorter words are for more general or metaphorical everyday use.
Why is the adjective mikilvægur in this specific form?
It is describing harðleikinn. Since all nouns derived with the -leiki suffix are masculine, the adjective mikilvægur (important) must take the masculine nominative singular ending -ur to agree with it. Interestingly, the root of mikilvægur contains vægi (weight or importance), which is another abstract noun you've learned that is derived with the neuter -i suffix!
The phrase skiptir máli translates to matters. Why is máli in the dative case here?
The phrase skipta máli is a fixed idiom meaning to matter or to make a difference. The verb skipta governs the dative case for the object involved, which is why the neuter noun mál (matter or issue) changes to its dative form máli.
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