Breakdown of Sérhver kandidat er verður kraftsins.
vera
to be
sérhver
every single
kandidatinn
the candidate (academic, job)
verður
worthy
Questions & Answers about Sérhver kandidat er verður kraftsins.
Why is the noun for power in the genitive case (kraftsins)?
This ties directly into the current lesson! The adjective verður (worthy) governs the genitive case. Instead of using a preposition like the English worthy of, Icelandic simply puts the target noun into the genitive case.
I thought verður was a verb meaning will be or must. What is it doing here right after er?
You are thinking of the verb að verða, which takes the form verður in the present tense. However, here verður is an adjective meaning worthy. Because we already have the main verb er (is), you can deduce that verður is acting as an adjective describing the candidate.
If the subject were a feminine noun like hetja (hero), how would the adjective change?
The adjective must agree in gender, number, and case with the subject. For a feminine nominative singular noun, verður becomes verð. The sentence would then be: Sérhver hetja er verð kraftsins.
How does the word sérhver (every) decline if used in a different case?