Breakdown of Gamla leðrið harðnar stundum of mikið.
gamall
old
mikið
a lot
stundum
sometimes
of
too
leðrið
the leather
hörðna
to harden
Questions & Answers about Gamla leðrið harðnar stundum of mikið.
How does the -na suffix in harðnar change the meaning of the root word?
The verb harðnar (from the infinitive harðna) is built from the adjective harður (hard) plus the -na suffix. This suffix creates inchoative verbs, which simply means verbs that describe a change of state. By adding -na, you change the static adjective into the active process of becoming hard, or hardening.
Why do we use the form Gamla instead of the neuter strong form Gamalt for the word old?
Because the noun leðrið has the definite article attached to it (the -ið suffix). Whenever a noun is definite, any preceding adjective must use the weak declension. If we were talking about old leather in general without the definite article, we would use the strong neuter form: gamalt leður.
The word stundum has the classic dative plural ending -um. Is it acting as a noun here?
In this sentence, stundum functions entirely as an adverb meaning sometimes. However, it originally comes from the dative plural of the noun stund (a while or period of time). Icelandic often fossilizes old dative plural nouns into adverbs of time or manner.
Why is mikið used here after of instead of a word like mjög?
We use mikið because it is modifying the verb harðnar to express the degree or amount of the action. Mjög translates more closely to very and is used to modify adjectives or other adverbs (like mjög gamalt for very old), but it cannot be used to modify a verb directly.
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