Breakdown of Ef þú ert of fljótur að gera strikið, verður það ekki beint.
vera
to be
þú
you
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
ekki
not
gera
to do / to make (something) + adjective
að
to (infinitive marker)
verða
to become; will be
ef
if
fljótur
fast (adjective)
of
too
beinn
straight
strikið
the stroke
Questions & Answers about Ef þú ert of fljótur að gera strikið, verður það ekki beint.
Why does fljótur take this specific ending in the phrase of fljótur að gera?
Unlike expressions that use adverbs for pace, fljótur is an adjective, so it must agree in gender and number with the subject it describes. Here, it is masculine singular, assuming the þú (you) being spoken to is male (or used as a general default). If speaking to a woman, it would be Ef þú ert of fljót að gera.... This construction—subject + vera + inflected fljótur + að + infinitive—is the standard way to express that someone does an action quickly.
Why is the word order verður það instead of það verður in the second clause?
Why use verður here instead of just er (is)?
While er means "is," verður (from the verb verða) is used here to mean "will be" or "will turn out to be." Icelandic frequently uses verða to express future consequences or states that result from an action, which fits perfectly with the conditional "if" structure of this sentence.
Why does the adjective "straight" take the form beint at the end of the sentence?
Adjectives must agree with the nouns or pronouns they describe. Beint is the neuter, singular, nominative form of beinn. It agrees with the neuter pronoun það (it), which refers back to the neuter noun strikið (the line or stroke) from the first clause.
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