Breakdown of Við getum skipulagt útihátíðina að því gefnu að fjármagnið sé tryggt.
vera
to be
við
we
geta
to be able to
fjármagnið
the capital
skipuleggja
to organize
útihátíðin
the outdoor festival
að því gefnu að
assuming that
tryggður
secured
Questions & Answers about Við getum skipulagt útihátíðina að því gefnu að fjármagnið sé tryggt.
How does the phrase að því gefnu að literally translate, and what dictates its grammar?
It translates literally as "to that given that". The first að is a preposition that requires the dative case. This forces the pronoun það into its dative form því, and the past participle of gefa (to give) into its neuter dative form gefnu. The second að simply acts as "that" to introduce the following clause.
Why do we use the subjunctive verb sé instead of the indicative er?
The conjunction að því gefnu að introduces a condition or a hypothetical scenario (assuming the funding is secured). In Icelandic, conditional phrases expressing uncertainty or a requirement typically trigger the subjunctive mood in the clause that follows them.
Why is the verb skipulagt not in its infinitive form after getum (we can)?
The modal verb geta is special in Icelandic because it always takes the supine form of the main verb, never the infinitive. The supine looks identical to the neuter singular past participle. So, instead of the infinitive skipuleggja, we must use skipulagt.
Why does the word tryggt end in a "t" here?
It is describing the noun fjármagnið (the funding). Fjármagn is a neuter noun, and here it is the subject of the second clause (in the nominative case). Therefore, the adjective must agree with it by taking the neuter nominative singular form tryggt instead of the masculine tryggur.
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