Breakdown of Stelpurnar hefðu átt að vera betur viðbúnar óveðrinu.
vera
to be
stelpan
the girl
vel
well
hafa
to have
eiga að
to be supposed to
óveðrið
the storm
viðbúinn
prepared
Questions & Answers about Stelpurnar hefðu átt að vera betur viðbúnar óveðrinu.
Why do we use hefðu átt að here instead of just the past tense áttu að?
Using the past tense áttu að just means they 'were supposed to' or 'had to' prepare, leaving it open whether they did or not. Using the past subjunctive of hafa (hefðu) with átt að clearly expresses an unfulfilled past obligation: they should have been prepared, but they weren't.
Why is the auxiliary verb hefðu and not hefði?
The auxiliary verb hafa must agree with the subject. Since Stelpurnar is plural, we use the third-person plural past subjunctive form hefðu. The modal part, átt, is a supine verb form and stays the same regardless of the subject.
Why does the adjective viðbúnar end in -ar?
Adjectives following the verb vera must agree with the subject in gender, number, and case. Stelpurnar is feminine, plural, and in the nominative case, so the adjective viðbúinn (prepared) takes the feminine plural nominative ending -ar to become viðbúnar.
Why is óveðrinu in the dative case?
The adjective viðbúinn dictates the case of the noun that follows it. To say you are prepared 'for' something in Icelandic, the thing you are prepared for must be in the dative case. Here, the neuter noun óveður (storm) gets the dative definite suffix -inu.
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