Breakdown of Þegar skyggnið er slæmt er sjórinn ýmist lygn eða úfinn.
vera
to be
slæmur
bad
eða
or
þegar
when
sjórinn
the sea
lygn
calm (weather, water)
ýmist
sometimes / alternately (by turns)
skyggnið
the visibility
úfinn
rough
Questions & Answers about Þegar skyggnið er slæmt er sjórinn ýmist lygn eða úfinn.
How does ýmist ... eða translate to "sometimes ... and sometimes" instead of "either ... or"?
The phrase ýmist ... eða is a set pair meaning "alternately [this] or [that]". While eða by itself just means "or", pairing it with the adverb ýmist creates the meaning of switching back and forth between two states. So here, the sea fluctuates between being calm (lygn) and rough (úfinn). If you wanted to say "either... or...", you would use annaðhvort ... eða.
Why is the verb er placed right before sjórinn in the second half of the sentence?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The entire first clause, Þegar skyggnið er slæmt (When the visibility is bad), acts as the first "block" of information. To keep the main verb in the second position of the overall sentence, the verb er must come immediately after that clause, forcing the subject sjórinn (the sea) to follow it.
Why is the adjective slæmt neuter, but lygn and úfinn are masculine?
Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Slæmt (bad) describes skyggnið (the visibility), which is a neuter noun. In the second half of the sentence, lygn (calm) and úfinn (rough) describe sjórinn (the sea). Because sjór is a masculine noun, both of those adjectives take the masculine nominative singular form.
Does úfinn only apply to the sea?
No, while úfinn means "rough" or "choppy" when describing the sea, it fundamentally means "ruffled" or "tousled". You will often see it used in everyday speech to describe messy, uncombed hair (úfið hár) or a bird's ruffled feathers.
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