Breakdown of Það er bróðir þinn sem er langstærstur og langsterkastur.
vera
to be
og
and
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
bróðirinn
the brother
þinn
your (sg.)
sem
who / which / that
langstærstur
by far the biggest
langsterkastur
by far the strongest
Questions & Answers about Það er bróðir þinn sem er langstærstur og langsterkastur.
How does the prefix lang- work with the adjectives here?
The prefix lang- is attached directly to the superlative forms of the adjectives (stærstur and sterkastur) to mean "by far". It acts as an intensifier. The adjective part still declines to agree with the noun it describes, while the prefix remains unchanged.
Do I have to repeat the lang- prefix on both adjectives, or could I just say langstærstur og sterkastur?
If you drop the second lang-, the meaning changes slightly. Saying langstærstur og sterkastur means he is "by far the biggest, and also the strongest". Repeating lang- clarifies that he is "by far the strongest" as well. Icelandic prefers repeating the prefix on each adjective to ensure the intensification applies equally to both.
Why are langstærstur and langsterkastur in the strong masculine nominative form?
They are predicate adjectives describing bróðir þinn (your brother). Even though they appear inside a relative clause introduced by sem, they must still agree in gender (masculine), number (singular), and case (nominative) with the noun they describe.
Why use the structure Það er... sem... instead of just saying Bróðir þinn er langstærstur...?
This creates a cleft sentence, which puts special emphasis on the subject. Translating to "It is your brother who...", this structure highlights that it is specifically your brother, as opposed to anyone else, who holds these superlatives.
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