Breakdown of Bróðir minn teiknar dverg sem er vinnusamur og hugulsamur.
vera
to be
og
and
bróðirinn
the brother
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
teikna
to draw
dvergurinn
the dwarf
sem
who / which / that
vinnusamur
industrious
hugulsamur
thoughtful
Questions & Answers about Bróðir minn teiknar dverg sem er vinnusamur og hugulsamur.
Both adjectives here end in -samur. What does this suffix do?
How is the word hugulsamur formed?
It is built from the noun hugur (mind or thought) and the suffix -samur. It describes someone who tends to keep others in mind, meaning "thoughtful" or "considerate". The extra -ul- in the middle is a connecting element used to make the word flow naturally.
Since dverg is in the accusative case, shouldn't the adjectives also be in the accusative?
No, because the adjectives are inside a relative clause starting with sem. Inside this clause, sem acts as the subject, and the verb is er (is). Adjectives following the verb "to be" always take the nominative case. They remain vinnusamur and hugulsamur to agree with the masculine subject of that specific clause, even though the dwarf is the object of the main sentence.
Just as a refresher, why is the dwarf dverg here instead of the dictionary form dvergur?
Dvergur is a strong masculine noun. Because it is the direct object being drawn by the brother, it must be in the accusative case. For many masculine words, this simply means dropping the -ur ending.
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