Breakdown of Bróðir minn borgar sjaldan fyrir streymisveituna.
borga
to pay
bróðirinn
the brother
minn
my (m, f, n: minn, mín, mitt)
fyrir
for (fyrir þig)
sjaldan
rarely
streymisveitan
the streaming service
Questions & Answers about Bróðir minn borgar sjaldan fyrir streymisveituna.
Why is sjaldan placed after borgar, unlike in English where we say "rarely pays"?
In Icelandic main clauses, adverbs of frequency like sjaldan (rarely), alltaf (always), and oft (often) usually come right after the conjugated verb. So, instead of saying "My brother rarely pays," the structure is literally "Brother my pays rarely."
Why do we say Bróðir minn instead of Minn bróðir?
In Icelandic, possessive words like minn (my) normally come after the noun they describe. You can sometimes put them before the noun (minn bróðir), but that adds a very strong emphasis on the word "my" (as in "my brother, not yours"). Here, it's just a normal statement.
Why does the word streymisveita end in -na here?
The preposition fyrir (for) controls the grammatical case of the noun that follows it. When you talk about paying for something, fyrir forces the next word into the accusative case. The accusative "the" ending for a feminine word like streymisveita is -na, giving us streymisveituna (the streaming service).
How is the word streymisveituna built?
It is a compound word created for modern technology. Streymi means "stream" or "streaming", and veita means a "utility" or "provider" (often used for water or electricity supplies). Put them together and add the definite article (-na), and you get "the streaming service".
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