Breakdown of Sama hver talar við hann, hann þráast alltaf við.
hann
he
tala
to speak
alltaf
always
hver
who / what / which (one)
við
with (talking with)
sama
the same / matters not
þráast við
to resist stubbornly
Questions & Answers about Sama hver talar við hann, hann þráast alltaf við.
Why doesn't Sama change its form to match the pronoun hver?
In this construction, sama is used as an invariable adjective. It locks into this fixed form when setting up concessive clauses like sama hver (no matter who) or sama hvað (no matter what), regardless of the gender or number of what comes next.
Is hver always in the nominative case after sama, or can it change?
It changes depending on its grammatical role in the dependent clause. Here, hver is the subject of talar (who talks), so it is nominative. If the phrase were 'no matter whom you talk to', it would take the accusative: sama hvern þú talar við.
Why does the main clause start with hann þráast instead of inverting to þráast hann?
Normally, starting a sentence with a dependent clause forces the main clause to invert its subject and verb to keep the verb in the second position (the V2 rule). However, clauses starting with sama are a common exception. They often act as a standalone introductory remark, allowing the main clause to keep regular subject-verb word order.
What is the second við doing at the very end of the sentence?
It is part of the phrasal verb þráast við, which means to stubbornly resist or dig one's heels in. While the first við is a preposition meaning 'to' (talar við hann), this final við is an adverbial particle attached to the verb.
Þráast ends in '-st', making it a middle voice verb. How does it relate to the active verb þrá?
It is the middle voice of þrá (to long for, yearn). While the active form is about strongly desiring something, adding the '-st' ending and the particle við shifts the meaning quite far, translating as being obstinate, stubborn, or persistently resisting.
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