Breakdown of Miðbærinn er troðfullur og þátttakan er gríðarleg.
vera
to be
og
and
miðbærinn
the city center
troðfullur
jam-packed
þátttakan
the participation
gríðarlegur
immense
Questions & Answers about Miðbærinn er troðfullur og þátttakan er gríðarleg.
Since the lesson is about the partitive genitive manns, could we use it here to say the center is full 'of people'?
No, manns is strictly used with numbers or specific quantifying nouns (like tuttugu manns for 'twenty people' or fjöldi manns for 'a crowd of people'). To explicitly say 'full of people', you would use the preposition af followed by the dative fólki. Here, troðfullur (jam-packed) implies a massive crowd all on its own without needing extra words.
How is the adjective troðfullur constructed?
It is a compound built from the verb root troð- (from troða, meaning to stuff, cram, or tread) and the adjective fullur (full). Put together, it translates literally to 'stuffed full' or 'jam-packed'.
What are the roots of the word þátttaka (participation)?
It is a very literal combination of þátt (from þáttur, meaning part) and taka (taking). It literally means 'part-taking', using the exact same logic as the English word 'partaking'. The -n at the end of þátttakan is the attached feminine definite article.
Why is the adjective gríðarleg missing the standard -ur ending?
The adjective is describing þátttakan, which is a feminine noun. Because of this, the base dictionary form gríðarlegur (immense) drops the masculine -ur ending to become gríðarleg in the feminine nominative singular.
Learn Miðbærinn er troðfullur og þátttakan er gríðarleg and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free