Breakdown of Hvílík litadýrð á himninum!
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
himinninn
the sky
hvílíkur
what a / such a
litadýrðin
the colorful splendor (f)
Questions & Answers about Hvílík litadýrð á himninum!
Why does the exclamative word take the form hvílík here instead of hvílíkur?
Hvílíkur inflects like a strong adjective and must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies. Since litadýrð is a feminine, singular noun in the nominative case, the matching strong feminine form is hvílík.
How is the compound word litadýrð formed?
It is made up of lita, the genitive plural of litur (color), and the feminine noun dýrð (glory, splendor). The gender of an Icelandic compound noun always comes from its last part, which is why the whole word is feminine and triggers the feminine agreement on the determiner.
Why is the dative form of the sky himninum instead of himininum?
The masculine noun himinn undergoes syncope, meaning it drops its second 'i' when endings are added. When the preposition á triggers the dative case to show location, the base word becomes himni. Adding the dative masculine definite article -num gives us himninum.
There is no verb in this sentence. Is it common to drop the verb in Icelandic exclamations?
Yes, just like in English, Icelandic exclamations starting with hvílíkur often leave out the verb when pointing out an immediate observation. You could grammatically say Hvílík litadýrð er á himninum! (What colorful splendor is in the sky!), but leaving out the verb er is very common and sounds perfectly natural.
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