Breakdown of Ég er komin með húðflúrið og það er varanlegt.
vera
to be
og
and
ég
I
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
koma
to come
með
with
húðflúrið
the tattoo
varanlegur
permanent
Questions & Answers about Ég er komin með húðflúrið og það er varanlegt.
How does vera komin með differ from just saying ég hef fengið (I have gotten)?
While ég hef fengið describes the past action of receiving the tattoo, vera kominn með focuses on the current state of having it now. It literally means "I am come with", but is used in Icelandic to emphasize the newly acquired state of possessing or having completed something.
Why does the sentence use komin instead of the dictionary form kominn?
In the vera kominn með construction, the past participle kominn functions like an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject. Because the form here is komin (feminine singular), we instantly know the speaker of this sentence is female.
Which case does the preposition með trigger in this sentence?
In the specific phrase vera kominn með (to have acquired something), the preposition með always takes the accusative case. Here, húðflúrið is a neuter noun, so its accusative definite form happens to look perfectly identical to its nominative form.
Why is the adjective varanlegt in the neuter form instead of the standard varanlegur?
The adjective describes the pronoun það (it), which is neuter because it refers back to the neuter noun húðflúr (tattoo). Therefore, the adjective must agree in gender and number, taking the neuter singular nominative form, varanlegt.
What are the root words that make up húðflúr?
It is a highly descriptive compound word combining húð (skin) and flúr (decoration, flourish, or floral pattern). So a tattoo in Icelandic is literally a "skin-decoration".
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