Breakdown of Við vorum að reyna að laga hljóminn.
vera
to be
við
we
að
to (infinitive marker)
laga
to fix
reyna
to try (attempt)
hljómurinn
the sound (musical, acoustic)
Questions & Answers about Við vorum að reyna að laga hljóminn.
Since this lesson is about possessives, how would we change this sentence to say we were trying to fix 'our' sound?
To say 'our sound' with neutral focus, you place the possessive pronoun after the noun, and the noun must take the definite article: hljóminn okkar. If you want to strongly emphasize that it is YOUR sound as opposed to someone else's, you prepose the possessive before the indefinite noun: okkar hljóm.
Why are there two að words so close together in að reyna að laga?
The first að is part of the continuous construction vera að plus infinitive, which here translates to 'were trying'. The second að is simply the infinitive marker 'to' for the next verb laga, meaning 'to fix'. Chaining infinitives like this is very common in Icelandic when an ongoing action involves a second verb.
Could I use hljóðið instead of hljóminn for 'the sound'?
It depends on the exact context. Hljóð is the general word for a physical noise, while hljómur refers specifically to audio quality, acoustics, tone, or musical sound. Because they are adjusting or fixing the sound, they are likely working with a music mix, an instrument, or room acoustics, making hljóminn the more natural choice here.
What case is hljóminn in, and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb laga. The base word is the masculine noun hljómur, which drops its ending to become hljóm in the accusative. Adding the masculine accusative definite article then makes it hljóminn.
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