Question 1

I thought græða meant to heal or plant. Why does it mean 'made money' here?

Accepted Answer

The verb græða has a few different meanings depending on the context. While it does mean to heal a wound or to plant vegetation, in business contexts it means to make a profit. The specific phrase græða á einhverju means to profit from something.

Question 2

Why does the preposition á trigger the dative case here instead of the accusative?

Accepted Answer

The preposition á generally takes the dative case when there is no physical movement towards a destination. In abstract or figurative phrases like græða á einhverju (to profit from something), there is no motion involved, so it strictly requires the dative case. This is why the object is in the dative form nýju vörunni.

Question 3

Why is the adjective nýju used instead of the strong dative feminine nýrri?

Accepted Answer

Because the noun it modifies, vörunni, has the definite article attached to it (the -nni ending). When an adjective comes before a definite noun, it must use the weak declension. For a feminine dative singular adjective, the weak ending is -u, making it nýju rather than the strong indefinite form nýrri.

Question 4

Could we place mikið at the end of the sentence, after vörunni?

Accepted Answer

No, doing so would sound quite unnatural. In Icelandic, adverbs of degree like mikið usually directly follow the verb they modify. The standard sentence structure here is verb plus quantity plus the prepositional phrase, keeping mikið right next to græddi.

Fyrirtækið græddi mikið á nýju vörunni.

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