Breakdown of Mitt viðlag er bæði frumsamið og skemmtilegt.
vera
to be
og
and
skemmtilegur
fun
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
bæði
both (bæði ... og)
viðlagið
the chorus
frumsaminn
original
Questions & Answers about Mitt viðlag er bæði frumsamið og skemmtilegt.
Why is it Mitt viðlag instead of the usual Viðlagið mitt?
In Icelandic, the default way to say "my chorus" is to put the possessive pronoun after the noun and add the definite article to the noun: viðlagið mitt. Placing the possessive first, as in Mitt viðlag, drops the definite article and creates a strong focus. It emphasizes that it is my chorus, specifically contrasting it with someone else's.
Why do the describing words frumsamið and skemmtilegt have these specific endings?
viðlag is a neuter noun in the singular nominative case. The describing words must match this gender, number, and case. skemmtilegt takes the standard neuter -t ending. frumsamið is actually a past participle acting as an adjective, and it takes the neuter -ið ending appropriate for its verb class.
How is the word frumsamið built?
It is a compound word. The prefix frum- means "first," "primary," or "original" (you might recognize it from frumsýning, meaning "premiere"). The second part, samið, is the neuter past participle of the verb semja (to compose or write). Together, it literally means "originally composed."
Is bæði ... og ... a fixed phrase here?
Yes, bæði [A] og [B] is the standard correlative conjunction for "both [A] and [B]" in Icelandic. While bæði can also be inflected as a pronoun depending on gender and case in other contexts, here it simply acts as a fixed structural word connecting the two adjectives.
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