Þó að tólið sé fjölnota verður þú að þrífa það.
Although the tool is multipurpose, you must clean it.
Breakdown of Þó að tólið sé fjölnota verður þú að þrífa það.
vera
to be
þú
you
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
þrífa
to clean
verða
to become; will be
þó að
although / even though
tólið
the tool
fjölnota
multipurpose
Questions & Answers about Þó að tólið sé fjölnota verður þú að þrífa það.
Why do we use sé instead of er in the first part of the sentence?
The conjunction þó að (although / even though) is one of the conjunctions in Icelandic that always triggers the subjunctive mood. Because of this, the verb vera takes its present subjunctive form sé instead of the indicative er.
Why doesn't the adjective fjölnota have a neuter ending to match tólið?
Compound words ending in -nota (like fjölnota for "multipurpose" or einnota for "disposable") are actually formed using a genitive plural noun. Because of this origin, they act as indeclinable adjectives. This means fjölnota will always look exactly like this, regardless of the gender, number, or case of the noun it describes.
Why is the word order ...verður þú... instead of ...þú verður... in the second half of the sentence?
This is a classic example of the V2 (verb-second) rule at work. The entire first clause (Þó að tólið sé fjölnota) occupies the first position in the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, verður must come next, which pushes the subject (þú) into the third position.
How do we know verður means "must" here rather than "will be"?
The verb verða means "must" or "have to" whenever it is followed by að plus a verb in the infinitive (here, að þrífa). If it were just followed by an adjective or a noun without að, it would mean "will be" or "become".
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