Breakdown of Þessir íhaldssömu hafa oft mikinn kaupmátt.
oft
often
þessi
this (m/f)
hafa
to have
mikill
great, much (adjective: snjórinn er mikill)
íhaldssamur
conservative
kaupmátturinn
the purchasing power
Questions & Answers about Þessir íhaldssömu hafa oft mikinn kaupmátt.
Where is the word for "people" in this sentence?
There isn't one! The adjective íhaldssömu (conservative) acts as a noun here. In Icelandic, you can use plural adjectives independently to refer to demographic groups sharing that trait, so Þessir íhaldssömu translates to "These conservative people" or "These conservatives".
Why does the adjective take the form íhaldssömu instead of the regular masculine plural íhaldssamir?
It takes the weak declension (íhaldssömu) because it directly follows the demonstrative pronoun Þessir (these). Even when adjectives act as nouns representing people, they still follow the standard rules for weak and strong endings.
Why are Þessir and íhaldssömu in the masculine plural if they refer to a general demographic?
The English translation says "high purchasing power", but doesn't mikinn mean "much" or "great"?
Yes, it does. While English talks about "high" purchasing power, Icelandic treats power (máttur) as a volume or quantity rather than a height. Therefore, you use mikill (much/great) instead of hár (high), resulting in the accusative phrase mikinn kaupmátt.
How does the word kaupmátt break down?
It is a compound of kaup (purchase, buying, or wages) and máttur (power or might). It appears here in the accusative case (kaupmátt) without the final nominative -ur because it is the direct object of the verb hafa.
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