Breakdown of Að meta eftirbragðið hlýtur að vera skemmtilegt.
vera
to be
skemmtilegur
fun
að
to (infinitive marker)
meta
to assess
hljóta
to must
eftirbragðið
the aftertaste (n)
Questions & Answers about Að meta eftirbragðið hlýtur að vera skemmtilegt.
Why is the adjective skemmtilegt in the neuter form here?
The subject of the sentence isn't a normal noun; it's the entire infinitive phrase Að meta eftirbragðið (Evaluating the aftertaste). In Icelandic, when an infinitival clause acts as the subject, any adjectives describing it must take the neuter singular form.
Why use hlýtur að for "must" instead of verður að?
Hljóta að expresses logical deduction or strong probability, meaning "it must be the case that..." or "I assume that...". Verða að expresses a strict obligation or necessity ("has to"). Since evaluating an aftertaste doesn't have a strict duty to be fun, but rather we are just deducing that it's a fun activity, hlýtur að is the right choice.
What case does the verb meta take, and how does it affect eftirbragðið?
The verb meta (to evaluate/assess) takes a direct object in the accusative case. Even though meta is in its infinitive form here, it still assigns the accusative case to eftirbragðið. Because eftirbragð is a neuter noun, its nominative and accusative forms look exactly the same.
Can I rephrase this sentence to use the dummy subject það?
Yes! While putting the infinitive clause at the beginning is perfectly correct, Icelanders very often use the dummy subject það to start the sentence and move the heavier infinitive clause to the end. That would look like this: Það hlýtur að vera skemmtilegt að meta eftirbragðið.
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