Breakdown of Þau halda áfram að hlæja að kjánaskapnum.
þau
they (n)
hlæja
to laugh
halda áfram
to continue, keep going (halda áfram)
að
to, towards
kjánaskapurinn
the silliness
Questions & Answers about Þau halda áfram að hlæja að kjánaskapnum.
How is the word kjánaskapur formed in this sentence?
It is built from the noun kjáni (a fool or silly person) and the suffix -skapur. This suffix is very common in Icelandic and is used to create abstract masculine nouns, much like '-ness' or '-ship' in English. Here, it turns a 'silly person' into the abstract concept of 'silliness'.
What happens to the spelling of kjáni when adding the -skapur suffix?
When adding -skapur to a weak noun ending in a vowel like kjáni, the final vowel is dropped. The stem kján- is joined with an connecting vowel '-a-' (or simply dropping the 'i' and keeping an 'a' if we view it morphologically) to make kjánaskapur.
Why does the word end in -num here instead of -inn?
The word is in the dative case because of the preposition að. The phrase hlæja að (to laugh at) always forces the following noun into the dative case. The suffix -skapur drops its '-ur' and takes the definite dative ending -num, resulting in -skapnum.
Does the phrase halda áfram always need að when another verb follows?
Yes, when halda áfram (to continue / to keep doing something) is followed by an action, you must use að plus the infinitive form of the verb. In this sentence, that connects it to hlæja (to laugh).
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