Breakdown of Voldugur valdhafi mun ríkja eftir krýninguna.
eftir
after / for (waiting for)
munu
will
krýningin
the coronation
voldugur
mighty
ríkja
to reign
valdhafinn
the ruler (person)
Questions & Answers about Voldugur valdhafi mun ríkja eftir krýninguna.
Valdhafi looks like a compound word. What are its roots?
It is made up of vald (power or authority) and hafi (someone who has or holds something, derived from the verb hafa). So a valdhafi is literally a power-holder or ruler.
Why do we use the strong adjective ending in voldugur rather than the weak form voldugi?
Because there is no definite article, pronoun, or possessive word before it. The strong declension (voldugur) is used for indefinite descriptions like a mighty ruler, whereas the weak declension (voldugi) would be used if we added a definite article or pronoun to mean the mighty ruler.
Icelandic often uses the present tense to talk about the future. Why is the auxiliary verb mun used here instead?
While the present tense is very common for future plans or scheduled events, the verb munu (here conjugated as mun) is used to express a strong prediction, an inevitable consequence, or a formal statement about the future. This fits perfectly with the elevated, formal context of a coronation.
This lesson focuses on the formal temporal conjunction er (when). Since it is not in this sentence, how could we rewrite the ending to use it?
To use er instead of the preposition eftir, you must change the noun phrase into a full time clause. For example, you could say Voldugur valdhafi mun ríkja er krýningunni lýkur (A mighty ruler will reign when the coronation ends). This maintains the formal written register, as er is the literary equivalent of þegar.
What case does the preposition eftir govern in this sentence?
It takes the accusative case here because it refers to time (after the coronation). The noun krýning is feminine, and its accusative singular definite form is krýninguna. Note that eftir can also take the dative case when it means along or according to.
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