Word
Af hverju þarft þú að bæta þennan lífsstíl?
Meaning
Why do you need to improve this lifestyle?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Af hverju þarft þú að bæta þennan lífsstíl?
þú
you
að
to (infinitive marker)
þurfa
to need
þessi
this (m/f)
Questions & Answers about Af hverju þarft þú að bæta þennan lífsstíl?
Why is the question word "hvað" (what) changed to "hverju" here?
The phrase af hverju translates to "why", but literally means "from what" or "of what". The preposition af always forces the word that follows it into the dative case. So, the basic word hvað changes to its dative form, hverju.
Why does the verb "þarft" come before "þú"?
Icelandic has a strict "verb-second" rule. Because the question phrase Af hverju takes up the first position in the sentence, the verb þarft (need) must take the second position. This forces the subject þú (you) to move right after the verb.
Why is "this lifestyle" written as "þennan lífsstíl" instead of "þessi lífsstíll"?
It is because "this lifestyle" is the direct object of the verb bæta (to improve), which requires the accusative case here. Since lífsstíll is a masculine word, the word for "this" changes to the masculine accusative þennan, and the noun lífsstíll drops its extra final -l to become lífsstíl.
Does the verb "bæta" always mean "to improve"?
Not always. By itself, að bæta usually means "to improve" or "to better" something, which fits perfectly with a lifestyle. However, if you see it used with the preposition við (as in að bæta við), the meaning changes to "to add".