Breakdown of Er stemningin sumarleg eða vetrarleg?
vera
to be
eða
or
stemningin
the atmosphere
sumarlegur
summery
Questions & Answers about Er stemningin sumarleg eða vetrarleg?
How does the suffix -legur work in the words sumarleg and vetrarleg?
The suffix -legur is highly productive in Icelandic, meaning you can attach it to many nouns to create adjectives. It translates closely to the English '-y' or '-ly'. Here, it turns the nouns sumar (summer) and vetur (winter) into adjectives describing the vibe or feel of the atmosphere.
Why is there an 'ar' in vetrarleg but no extra letters in sumarleg?
When deriving adjectives with -legur, the root noun is often put into the genitive (possessive) case to link the words. The genitive of vetur is vetrar, giving us vetrarlegur. However, some words combine using their bare dictionary stem. Sumar uses its simple stem, giving us sumarlegur instead of using its genitive form.
Why do the adjectives end in -leg instead of their dictionary form -legur?
Adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. Because stemningin (the atmosphere) is a feminine noun in the singular nominative case, the adjectives drop the masculine -ur ending to take the feminine form, which is just -leg.
Is stemningin a native Icelandic word?