Breakdown of Reynt fólk er mikilvægt fyrir samfélagið.
vera
to be
mikilvægur
important
fyrir
for (fyrir þig)
fólkið
the people
reyndur
experienced
samfélagið
the society
Questions & Answers about Reynt fólk er mikilvægt fyrir samfélagið.
Why are reynt and mikilvægt in the neuter singular form if they describe "people"?
In Icelandic, the word for "people" (fólk) is a singular neuter noun. Because it acts as a singular unit, any adjectives describing it—like reynt (experienced) and mikilvægt (important)—must also take the neuter singular form. This is also why the sentence uses the singular verb er (is), even though we say "are" in English.
Is reynt related to the verb for "to try"?
Yes! The adjective reynt comes from the verb að reyna, which means "to try" or "to experience." Here it is used as an adjective meaning "experienced."
Why does fyrir take the accusative case here?
The preposition fyrir can take either the accusative or the dative case. When it means "for" in the sense of benefit, importance, or intention (like being important for society), it takes the accusative case. Since samfélag is a neuter noun, its accusative form with the attached definite article is samfélagið.
How is the word samfélagið built?
It is made up of the noun samfélag (society) plus the neuter definite article -ið (the). Samfélag itself is a compound word created from sam- (together or co-) and félag (association, fellowship, or club).
Learn Reynt fólk er mikilvægt fyrir samfélagið and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free