Breakdown of Þessi viður er flottur en hann vill annan stíl.
vera
to be
hann
he
en
but
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
þessi
this (m/f)
flottur
cool
annar
other, another; second
viðurinn
the wood
stíllinn
the style
Questions & Answers about Þessi viður er flottur en hann vill annan stíl.
Why do we use annan instead of just annar here?
Annan is the masculine accusative form of annar (other / another). We use the accusative case here because it is the direct object being acted upon by the verb vill (wants). Since the noun it describes, stíll (style), is masculine, the pronoun must match its gender and case.
Does the word annar mean both 'other' and 'another' in Icelandic?
Yes! Icelandic doesn't have an indefinite article like the English 'a' or 'an', so there is no built-in difference between 'other' and 'an-other'. You just use the correct form of annar for both concepts.
Why is the verb vill used here for 'wants'? Shouldn't a regular verb end differently?
Vill comes from the verb vilja (to want). It is a highly irregular verb that you have to memorize because it doesn't follow normal conjugation rules. For 'he wants', the correct form is hann vill.
Why do þessi (this) and flottur (nice) both end differently when talking about the wood?
They both have to agree with viður (wood), which is a masculine noun. Because 'this wood' is the subject of the first part of the sentence, it is in the nominative case. Therefore, we use the masculine nominative forms: þessi for 'this' and flottur for 'nice'.
Can viður also mean 'a wood' as in a forest?
No, viður strictly means 'wood' as a material, like timber or lumber. If you want to talk about a forest or woods with living trees, you would use the word skógur.
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