Breakdown of Þessi ógnvekjandi snjóbolti rúllar til mín!
þessi
this (m/f)
til
to
mín
me (after til: til mín)
snjóboltinn
the snowball
rúlla
to roll (e.g. a ball, a wheel)
ógnvekjandi
terrifying (intimidating)
Questions & Answers about Þessi ógnvekjandi snjóbolti rúllar til mín!
This lesson is about iterative comparisons like 'bigger and bigger'. How would I say this snowball is rolling 'faster and faster' towards me?
You use the comparative form of the adverb hratt (fast), which is hraðar, and repeat it with og. The sentence would simply become: Þessi ógnvekjandi snjóbolti rúllar hraðar og hraðar til mín!
Why doesn't the adjective ógnvekjandi have a masculine nominative ending to match snjóbolti?
Ógnvekjandi is a present participle (literally 'terror-waking' or 'terrifying'), recognizable by the -andi ending. In Icelandic, present participles used as adjectives are completely indeclinable. They never change form, no matter the gender, number, or case of the noun they describe.
Why do we use mín here instead of mér or mig for 'me'?
The preposition til (towards/to) always requires the genitive case. Since mín is the genitive form of the pronoun ég, you must use it here. While many prepositions of movement take the accusative, til is a strict exception that always takes the genitive.
If I wanted to say 'I see this terrifying snowball', how would Þessi ógnvekjandi snjóbolti change?
It would change to the accusative case because it becomes the direct object. The masculine demonstrative þessi becomes þennan, and the weak noun snjóbolti changes its -i to an -a (snjóbolta). Because ógnvekjandi never changes, the full phrase is: Ég sé þennan ógnvekjandi snjóbolta.
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