Breakdown of Nákvæmnin hjá verkfræðingnum er alltaf frábær.
vera
to be
alltaf
always
hjá
next to / at (someone's) place, with
frábær
fantastic
verkfræðingurinn
the engineer
nákvæmnin
the precision
Questions & Answers about Nákvæmnin hjá verkfræðingnum er alltaf frábær.
How is the noun nákvæmnin formed, and what adjective does it come from?
It is formed from the adjective nákvæmur (accurate, precise). By dropping the masculine ending and adding the suffix -ni, we get the feminine abstract noun nákvæmni (precision). The final -n in the sentence is just the attached definite article, making it 'the precision'.
Why does nákvæmur take the -ni suffix instead of -leiki or -leikur?
Adjectives ending in -ur or -inn very frequently take the -ni suffix to form feminine abstract nouns (similar to feiminn becoming feimni). Suffixes like -leiki are usually attached to a different set of adjectives (like sannur becoming sannleiki). There is no strict universal rule, so learning these noun-adjective pairs together is the best strategy.
Why is hjá verkfræðingnum used here instead of the genitive case (nákvæmni verkfræðingsins)?
While the genitive case is grammatically correct and common in formal texts, everyday Icelandic frequently uses the preposition hjá followed by the dative case to express a characteristic, habit, or trait belonging to a person. It translates naturally to 'the precision possessed by the engineer'.
Why doesn't the adjective frábær have an ending here?
It must agree with the subject nákvæmnin, which is a feminine, nominative, singular noun. For the adjective frábær, the feminine nominative singular form happens to be exactly the same as the dictionary form, so no extra ending is needed.
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