Breakdown of Það er auðséð að froðan hefur dreifst vel um bruggið.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
vel
well
um
around
að
that (conjunction)
hafa
to have
auðséður
easily seen
froðan
the foam
dreifast
to spread
Questions & Answers about Það er auðséð að froðan hefur dreifst vel um bruggið.
How exactly do we get the supine form dreifst from the middle voice verb dreifast?
The active supine (sagnbót) of dreifa is dreift. When forming the middle voice supine, you drop the final dental consonant (-t, -d, or -ð) of the active form before adding the -st suffix. Therefore, dreif(t) + -st becomes dreifst.
Why does this sentence use the middle voice hefur dreifst instead of the active form hefur dreift?
The active verb dreifa is transitive and means to spread something else (and it takes a dative object). Because the foam isn't spreading something else, but rather spreading itself naturally through the liquid, we use the middle voice dreifast to show this intransitive, automatic action.
Why is the adjective auðséð in the neuter form here?
Auðséð is a compound of the prefix auð- (easily) and the past participle séð (seen). It is in the neuter singular form to agree with the dummy pronoun það. Even though the noun froðan is feminine, the main clause is just 'It is easily seen,' where 'It' (það) dictates the neuter agreement.
The preposition um is followed by bruggið. What case is this and why?
Bruggið is in the accusative case. When um dictates movement or distribution through, around, or all over a physical space, it always governs the accusative case. It only takes the dative in a few fixed, mostly time-related expressions.
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