Breakdown of Kenningin er góð en myndavélagildran sýnir ekkert.
vera
to be
en
but
góður
good
sýna
to show
ekkert
nothing / no (neut.)
kenningin
the theory
myndavélagildran
the camera trap
Questions & Answers about Kenningin er góð en myndavélagildran sýnir ekkert.
How does the compound word myndavélagildran break down?
It is made of myndavél (camera) and gildra (trap), joined by the connecting vowel -a- to form myndavélagildra. The feminine definite article -n is added at the end because gildra is a feminine noun. Myndavél itself is also a compound, formed from mynd (picture/image) and vél (machine).
Since sýna takes an object, why is ekkert in the neuter form here?
In this sentence, ekkert functions as the independent pronoun 'nothing'. It is the neuter accusative singular form of enginn. When referring to an abstract 'nothing' rather than pointing back to a specific neuter noun, Icelandic always defaults to the neuter singular form.
How could we rewrite the second half of this sentence to say the camera trap might show nothing, using this lesson's grammar?
You would use the verb kunna (to be able to / might) + að + the infinitive sýna. The second clause becomes: en myndavélagildran kann að sýna ekkert. This expresses the epistemic possibility that it shows nothing.
Is there a difference in Icelandic between saying sýnir ekkert (shows nothing) and sýnir ekki neitt (does not show anything)?
They mean exactly the same thing and are grammatically interchangeable in a sentence like this. However, sýnir ekki neitt adds a bit more emphasis, acting as a reinforced negative that translates closer to 'does not show anything at all'.
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