Breakdown of Ég syng vögguvísuna en hún er enn andvaka.
vera
to be
ég
I
hún
she
en
but
syngja
to sing
enn
still, yet
vögguvísan
the lullaby
andvaka
sleepless (lying awake)
Questions & Answers about Ég syng vögguvísuna en hún er enn andvaka.
How would I apply the current lesson's grammar to say "No matter what I sing, she is still awake"?
You would introduce the sentence with the concessive structure and drop the conjunction en: Sama hvað ég syng, er hún enn andvaka. Notice that the main clause verb er comes immediately after the comma to satisfy the V2 (verb-second) rule.
Why does andvaka look like a feminine noun here, and does it decline?
andvaka is used here as an adjective meaning "sleepless" or "awake in bed". It is an indeclinable adjective, meaning it stays andvaka regardless of the subject's gender or number (for example, við erum andvaka). It is formed from the prefix and- (against/opposite) and vaka (wakefulness).
How is the compound word vögguvísuna formed and declined?
It is a compound of vagga (cradle) in its genitive singular form vöggu, and vísa (verse/song), making vögguvísa (lullaby). Here, it is in the accusative definite form, vögguvísuna, because it is the direct object of the verb syng.
Could I use ennþá instead of enn in this sentence?
Yes, enn and ennþá are generally interchangeable when meaning "still". ennþá is slightly more colloquial and emphatic, while enn is standard and very common in all registers. Both work perfectly here to show the state is ongoing.
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