Breakdown of Ljósið er nokkru bjartara núna og blikkar ýmist hratt eða hægt.
vera
to be
og
and
núna
now
hægt
slowly
bjartur
bright
eða
or
ljósið
the light
hratt
fast
nokkur
several
blikka
to flash
ýmist
sometimes / alternately (by turns)
Questions & Answers about Ljósið er nokkru bjartara núna og blikkar ýmist hratt eða hægt.
How does ýmist ... eða translate to 'sometimes ... and sometimes' when eða means 'or'?
The paired conjunction ýmist ... eða literally means 'alternately [A] or [B]'. Even though English naturally translates this idea using 'and' (sometimes fast and sometimes slowly), Icelandic always pairs ýmist with eða (or) to show that the two states are alternating.
Why is the word nokkru used here instead of the nominative nokkuð?
Nokkru is in the dative case. In Icelandic, when you want to express the degree of difference with a comparative adjective like bjartara (brighter), you use the dative case. This makes nokkru bjartara literally mean 'brighter by some amount' or 'somewhat brighter'.
Why does the comparative adjective bjartara end in '-a'?
It is the comparative form of the adjective bjartur (bright). Because the subject it describes, ljósið (the light), is a neuter noun, the comparative adjective must take the neuter comparative ending, which is bjartara.
Are hratt and hægt adjectives or adverbs in this sentence?
They are adverbs describing how the light flashes (blikkar). In Icelandic, the adverb form of most adjectives is identical to their neuter singular nominative form. Here, they are the adverbial forms of hraður (fast) and hægur (slow).
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