Breakdown of Maðurinn sem plataði okkur var mjög trúverðugur.
vera
to be
maðurinn
the man
mjög
very
okkur
us
sem
who / which / that
plata
to trick
trúverðugur
credible
Questions & Answers about Maðurinn sem plataði okkur var mjög trúverðugur.
How would we apply this lesson's grammar to say 'The man claimed to be very credible' instead of saying he was credible?
You would use the middle-voice verb segjast (to say or claim of oneself) followed by a bare infinitive. In the past tense, this becomes: Maðurinn sagðast vera mjög trúverðugur. Notice that the adjective trúverðugur stays in the nominative case because it still describes the subject.
What case does the verb plata govern here?
It takes the accusative case (að plata einhvern). The pronoun for 'us' (við) looks exactly the same in both the accusative and dative cases (okkur), but grammatically it is strictly accusative in this sentence.
Is plata the most standard verb for 'to deceive' in Icelandic?
Plata is extremely common but leans slightly colloquial, much like 'to trick' or 'to fool' in English. In more formal or serious contexts, you will often see verbs like blekkja (to deceive) or svíkja (to betray or defraud).
Is there a helpful way to remember the adjective trúverðugur?
Yes, you can break it down into its two parts: trú (faith or belief) and verðugur (worthy or deserving). So a trúverðugur person is literally someone who is 'worthy of belief', making them credible or trustworthy.
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