Breakdown of Nýja ofurhetjan var megnug alls.
vera
to be
nýr
new
allur
all / everything / everyone
ofurhetjan
the superhero
megnugur
capable
Questions & Answers about Nýja ofurhetjan var megnug alls.
Why is the word for "everything" in the genitive case (alls)?
This is because of the adjective megnugur (capable). Just like some verbs and prepositions force a specific case, a small group of adjectives in Icelandic demand the genitive case for their object. Since the superhero is capable of "everything," the pronoun allt changes to its genitive form, alls.
Why is the adjective megnug rather than megnugur?
It has to agree with the noun it describes, which is ofurhetjan (the superhero). The base word hetja (hero) is a feminine noun, so the adjective must take the feminine singular nominative form, megnug.
Is ofurhetja always a feminine noun, even if the superhero is male?
Yes. In Icelandic, grammatical gender belongs to the word itself, not the physical person it refers to. Because the root word hetja is grammatically feminine, any adjectives describing it (like nýja and megnug) must also be in their feminine forms, regardless of the hero's actual gender.
Why is nýja in its weak declension if there is no free-standing definite article (like hin) in front of it?
In modern, everyday Icelandic, it is standard practice to use the weak form of an adjective directly before a noun that has a suffixed definite article attached to it. While you might see hin nýja ofurhetja in very formal writing, nýja ofurhetjan is the natural way to phrase this in normal speech and text.
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