Breakdown of Bróðir minn er kominn með húðflúr, en það gæti hafa gróið betur.
vera
to be
en
but
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
koma
to come
bróðirinn
the brother
minn
my
með
with
hafa
to have
geta
to be able to
betur
better (adverb)
húðflúrið
the tattoo
gróa
to heal
Questions & Answers about Bróðir minn er kominn með húðflúr, en það gæti hafa gróið betur.
Why does this sentence use er kominn með to mean "has gotten"?
This is a common Icelandic construction used to express an aspectual state of acquisition. The phrase vera kominn með (literally "to be come with") means that someone has acquired, bought, caught, or developed something. The thing acquired—in this case, the húðflúr (tattoo)—takes the accusative case because it follows the preposition með.
Why is the participle kominn used instead of the default dictionary form komið?
In the vera kominn með construction, the past participle of koma acts like an adjective describing the subject, so it must agree in gender and number. Because the subject bróðir minn (my brother) is masculine and singular, the participle takes the masculine nominative singular form kominn. If the subject were feminine, like "my sister," it would be er komin með.
How does the grammar in the phrase gæti hafa gróið (could have healed) work?
Gæti is the past subjunctive form of geta (can/to be able to), used here to mean "could" or "might." Modal verbs in Icelandic are followed by an infinitive verb; here, that is hafa (to have). To create the "have done" meaning, hafa is then followed by the supine (the neuter past participle) of the main verb. Here, that is gróið, from the verb gróa (to heal).
Why does the second clause use the pronoun það?
The pronoun það (it) refers back to the tattoo. Because the noun húðflúr is neuter in Icelandic, you must use the neuter pronoun það to refer to it in the second half of the sentence. The past participle gróið also happens to be in the neuter form to agree with it.
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